Savory Cycle

Last Sunday was the Savory Cycle.  It was billed as a "Progressive "Meal" + “Metric” Century"   to "Celebrate the thriving local food and beverage culture. Contribute to the vibrant bicycling scene. Raise awareness and money for Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop."  

What could be better than combining two of my favorite things - riding & eating! I was sold. I immediately signed up Steve & I. I talked Audrey into it - I am pretty sure she was cursing me around mile 55. Steve's running buddies Karen, Jody & Rick signed up as well. It was going to be a fun day.

We started out at West Sixth Brewery at about 9AM for registration. They had Midway School of Baking treats & Magic Beans Coffee to get us started.  

Outside of West Sixth

At 10AM we headed out on the first segment to Wallace Station. I am not accustomed to riding in large groups. The majority of my rides are solo even when I am out with a group. I just like it that way. The first 5 miles of this ride was in a pack & I coasted most of the way. Too many years of training with Susan has made me unable to coast downhill. It just feels so wrong. Somewhere along Spur road everyone started to spread out & I was able to ride a nice pace.

The weather was beautiful. Sunny & low 80's. Perfect day for riding. The first stop was Wallace Station. The menu was fresh fruit cornucopia, bacon, egg and cheese gougeres & watermelonade, water and tea.

First leg was a couple miles longer than advertised. 

Wallace Station

Food

We hung out here for about 30-45 minutes or so before heading to Woodford Reserve for lunch. The route had us going down the Millville hill - it is way more fun going down than up! This leg was about 13 miles.  I started feeling the miles on the last couple miles to Woodford. The longest ride of the season was 40 miles but the majority have been 20-35 miles so this was entering new territory.

The lunch menu was Kyushi( sushi roll with collard greens, ky prawn, black rice, red pepper, sesame aioli), Mini baguettes with cucumber, tomato and pesto, Nutella, banana, sorghum crepes, Salad of arugula, mixed greens, roasted butternut squash, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinaigrette & Switchel, water, tea.

One thing that put us off at this stop is that there were signs that said 1 piece per person. The first couple of stops seemed to be short on food. They knew how many folks signed up but I don't think they were prepared for a cyclists hunger. The last couple of stops seemed better prepared so they were either making adjustments on the fly or they just had more food available.

Millville Hill - the steep downhill

Woodford - Beautiful location along the creek 

Karen, Audrey, Me & Steve at Woodford

After lunch & a reapplication of Aquaphor we were on our way to Holly Hill. This was the shortest leg of the day. The small plate menu was Antipasto spread & Ginger honey lemonade.

Holly Hill

Audrey with the thumbs up

Holly Hill

Holly Hill

After eating I tried to stretch the hips good. The last leg was the longest & all in unchartered territory. I had no idea how I was going to feel. Well, maybe more correctly stated - I knew I would feel pretty bad I just didn't know just how bad I would feel.

The organizers did a last minute course change to get us off Leestown road which made the overall course a few miles longer. Miles 50-60 sucked. My legs were cooked. My seat hurt bad, really bad. I stopped at Yarnallton & Falcon Wood way to switch out my water bottles, take a couple E21 recovery tabs & talk to Audrey for a few minutes. We started back up for the last 15 miles & surprisingly I felt quite a bit better. I had meant to take the E21 at each stop but forgot. Not sure if that is what re-energized me but I felt a lot better.  

The last 10 miles were mostly on the Legacy Trail. It was a relief to get back on the LT - it felt familiar which was a mental boost. The overall ride was 73.24 miles which was about 8 miles longer than advertised and close to 30 miles longer than my longest ride ever! It was such a relief to roll back up to West Sixth and be done. It was a great ride but I was hurting and ready to be off the saddle!

West Sixth dinner & beer pairing - Prime rib with chimichurri, Catfish escabeche, Vegetable lasagna, Greased pig( tomatoes, bacon, blue cheese, sorghum vinaigrette, basil), Mexican corn salad, Kale caesar salad, Chocolate bread pudding & bourbon butter sauce, Baguettes

So happy to be DONE!

Yowza! 

West Sixth Dinner 

Savory Swag

Karen, Audrey, Me, Rick & Steve and our full bellies & tired legs
Photo Credit - Jody Shoup

The following photo is my absolute favorite of the day taken by Jody Shoup. I love how the one horse is lit up & the others are in silhouette.

Photo Credit - Jody Shoup

Overall, this was an awesome event. I really enjoyed it. It was so well organized & the route was clearly marked. All the food was delicious & the rest stop locations were amazing. I would definitely do this again. Although I may try to get more miles in the saddle prior.

What's next? I registered today for the Backroads Brewery Ride. The ride starts at West Sixth & goes to Rooster Brewery in Paris, KY. 100% of the $20 fee goes to the Lexington Humane Society & PAWS (Paris Animal Welfare Society). Each rider gets 2 beer samples at both breweries & a West Sixth & Rooster Brewery pint glass. Love.