Riding the WHOLE Course

I finally got to ride the whole bike course on 7/26. Several people from Louisville Ironman Blog jointed up to ride together....that lasted about 15 miles of the 112 mile ride. Everybody has their own pace on the hills and on the flats. Most people seem to meet up at the Marathon station in Sligo (seems to be a favorite place for cyclist to stop for a break, get a bottle of water or a drink). I enjoyed the course until the "second lollypop" or the second loop thru LaGrange. General George S. Patton of WWII fame had a famous saying that he hated to pay for same real estate twice (he never liked to retreat) and I hate to look at the same real estate twice so the second loop is somewhat of a drag expecially knowing that for the most part you are going away from the finish line for sometime. In running a marathon, they say a lot of people hit the"wall" at 20 miles. In biking I think the "wall" is at about 80 miles. I stopped at the Starlight General Store (which has become my favorite place to stop) at mile 93 and I was ready to be done. Nonetheless, we held on for the last 19 miles home to finish the WHOLE bike course in about 6-3/4 hours