Their tagline is: “You can’t BRAG if you don’t ride!”
The 32nd annual Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) began Sunday at Oglethorpe College in Atlanta. It moves on to Oxford, Milledgeville, Dublin, Metter and Hinesville before coming to an end in Savannah on Saturday. Rest stops, set up every 15 miles along the route, are managed by the Special Olympics.
This is the fourth year in a row that my partner, Doug Keith, is riding. He tells me the 72 mile ride from Oxford to Milledgeville on Monday will be among the toughest of this year’s course. The 100° high we’re expecting, down from an earlier prediction of 102°, won’t help.
Doug says he’s become a star of sorts on these rides. One reason is the funny-looking vintage Pederson bike he rides. The Bentley of Bicycles, Doug’s was a gift from a friend who once rode it over eleven Swiss mountain passes in ten days.
“Good testimony that it’s a good hill-riding bike,” says Doug.
He’ll need a whole-lot-of that this week!
But Doug is also known on these rides because, it turns out, a good number of the riders saw my 2008 video of his first ride. The second half gives a good sense of what it’s like on the road. If you have 10+ minutes (I know, an eternity in internet time!) you might give it a look. Be sure to let me know what you think.