Weekend Ride: Is there a parade today?

Sometimes I outsmart myself.

Did 29.7 miles (can I call it 30?) this morning on a route I mapped out for myself. For those familiar with the area of Alpharetta GA the route included McGinnis Ferry, Morris Road, and Webb Road. I then cut through the neighborhood of Hopewell Plantation (beautiful homes!) to get to Hopewell Road. From there my plan was to head south into central Alpharetta, turn left on Academy Street, and head home. I chose this route specifically to avoid riding on Alpharetta Hwy/Main Street through town. Well guess what today was? It was the annual "Old Soldier's Day Parade" and southbound Main Street was closed to stage the participants. And where did all the traffic end up? Hopewell Road! There was a very long line of cars all crawling through town: stop and go traffic for several miles.

With Hopewell hopelessly backed up, I asked one of the friendly Alpharetta policemen if I could ride down Main St. to get to Academy. His reply was "On a bike, sure! Just pretend like you're in the parade." Funny! Since all the southbound lanes were blocked off I actually had a very pleasant ride down Main St. I just had to go slow and dodge all the people standing around the floats.

29.67 miles in 2:05 for an average of only 14.2 mph. I blame the parade.