Saturday Fun!

My brother, Jim, his friend James (in the front), James' friend Jesse, and me (in the back) posed for this picture at my mom's house in Cincinnati before we headed to Oxford, Ohio - about 30 miles away. Our adventure began at about 8AM on saturday. James was chuckling about the backpacks on Jim's and my bikes, until, that is my brother used the tools he was carrying to tighten James' handle bar and I furnished water from the spare bottle I was carrying when the day got really hot. All in good fun! I like to be at least reasonably prepared, and the extra weight is good training on the hills. I'm gonna have to learn to love those hills!
So, we were off! The morning was cool, for a little while at least. After a several mile downhill at the start of the ride, we reached the Little Miami River. We spent the rest of the ride gradually climbing back up out of the valley to return to my brother's house which is not far from my mom's. The country around Cincinnati is lovely. It's very dry right now. Cincinnati is badly in need of several good, soaking rains since they are down about 12 inches from their normal rainfall. After 2-3 hours we stopped at the Cappucino Depot in Millville. Jim started talking to someone who was enjoying the coffee with his wife and daughter. After a short conversation, he discovered that our sister had gone to grade school with this man's brother. Small world!
I got a frozen cappucino and a pound of freshly roasted Ethiopian Yigracheffe. I'm not even going to try to pronounce that! The label says: "One of the world's most distinctive coffees. A fruity winey taste with rich soft toned acidity and light to medium body." I really don't know about that, but I do like the taste. After that short stop, we were on our way to Oxford, and Miami University.
"Uptown" in Oxford, High Street (which IS actually higher than the surrounding area), we found a little sandwich shop to get some lunch. After lunch I had a little snack of "nuts and berries". Trail mix and water are my primary sustenance on these day long rides.
It was a long (about 7 hours) and rather hot day, so I spent much of it, riding or not, continuously sipping water or downing diet pops when we stopped. While riding, I try not to let my mouth get dry. That seems to be a good strategy for staying hydrated since I finished the ride feeling very fresh. No trouble with leg cramps and I felt as fresh climbing the hills as I did when I started.
We finally made it to downtown Hamilton, Ohio a little while after lunch. I realized that even though I lived in Cincinnati for just over 40 years I had never been to downtown Hamilton, at least not that I can remember. It's a nice area and they were setting up for a small concert or carnival so we stopped and got some pop.
Jesse, who had not ridden much for the last month, was starting to drag a little. I could tell he wasn't looking forward to getting back on the bike. A few more miles down the road, he called a friend of his to pick him up and take him and his bike home, or as my brother put it: "He called for an extraction." :-) Well, the way I see it, he covered nearly 50 miles that day. And, my hat's off to anyone who can put forth that effort!
A few more relatively easy hills put us back level with my brother's house and we cruised on in. We got a picture of the 3 amigos to mark the occasion. I can't think of a better way to spend a saturday!