My Saturday ride 01-05

I decided to go out and try the Bicycles East mid-Saturday morning ride. Today was a beautiful day to be out on the bike. There were about 20 people or so that went out starting from downtown Matthews riding on the edges of Union and Mecklenburg Counties. The creators of this route have done a real good job avoiding the congestion of Matthews, Stallings, Indian Trail and Mint Hill. The route does have just under 900 feet of elevation gain, and there was one climb where I did see a 10% grade. But overall it is just rolling. There was a little bit of wind just before getting to Mint Hill but otherwise the ride is mostly sheltered from the wind.

The group that rode this morning seemed to be of varying abilities, I did have some mechanical issues riding bike #2 but finally sorted them out just before the stop in Mint Hill. I was able to finish with the lead group even though I did have to stop to make an adjustment out on the route. Here are the stats and the route map: