The Benson Bop

Thursday I met Dean and Mike on the outskirts of Raleigh for the Benson Bop. The route is a rolling 47 miles with more than 2000 ft of climbing. It makes for a perfect training route. Unfortunately for me, it is not here at the beach. The route will become part of a longer route in the near future. I'm sure I will have the opportunity to become acquainted with this area of North Carolina soon enough.

I must say I got a little more than I bargained on this route. I needed to get time on the saddle and I was going stir crazy couped up on boxing day. Within the first 5 miles, I knew it would be a long day and I wondered why I hadn't ridden a little more regularly between Thanksgiving and Christmas. My legs were already jello with some deep pain. I figured it was a relatively short day and I have hurt far more on the bicycle for considerably more miles so I kept spinning. It was worth it. I felt great and felt ready to do more miles at the end of the day.

The mantra: If the pain or injury will heal within a week or two....keep going.

We stopped in Benson, NC for lunch. YUM!

A pond along the route. The glassy water made a perfect mirror of the shore line.

Mike taking some pictures of an old mill house.