Horses of Misery or the Horsey Hundred

At Georgetown University in Georgetown, KY, a few thousand of us gather on Friday to gather our credentials and visit the expo, prior to participating in the next morning's Horsey Hundred.  This visit is my second and I find it to be a good, early season century with 6000'+/- of climbing.  As the day winds down, things begin to.....

....wind up at the Mark & Karen Rossi tent.  Above, Larry and Lisa approach with a cooler.  There was plenty of liquid refreshment for us and others who just happened by.  Probably for next year, we should include water as the lack of it made us turn too frequently to the beer and wine as the only alternatives.

Saturday morning arrives and so too do all the cyclists.  Ohio was the most represented state, as of Friday.  Could have been enough walk-up traffic to push KY to #1.  Frank and Lisa above joined many from central Ohio. There is not a mass start so people begin filtering out whenever they want.

The Rossi's, Larry P, Lisa A, Mitch, Flyin Tuna and later, Mike Wrey represent our core group.  Strangely, Larry brought a banana even though the multiple food stops are well stocked and present every 20 miles or so.  The scenery is fantastic as we.....

....pass many horse farms and well manicured estates. 

We paused at the 2nd food stop and refueled.  Larry made a point, many times, that we needed to stay hydrated on this hot and humid day.  Later, many cyclists were observed off their bikes, sitting and resting.  Probably they could have used a dose of Larry's wisdom.

I think at mile 50, Mike joined our group.  Some took the 83 mile route so we were down to 4, Larry, FT, Mike and me.  

At mile 75, the theme dressed volunteers provide all that we could want, including pickle juice and chicken broth.  

Once leaving the aforementioned food stop, a castle is seen in the distance.  Throughout the ride, police presence is plentiful as they controlled traffic to make our way much easier then it otherwise could be.

The highlight of the route though is at mile 91 where ice cream floats are served.  A popular spot and even though only 9 miles remains, few pass this without stopping for the treat.  Finished with a 17.8 average for the 100 miles.  Unfortunately, I had to get back so drove the 3 hours back to Ohio while others dined and then rode Sunday morning, doing 50 or 70 miles.