marked improvement

 There were a couple of "I don't know how that happened" things about this ride. The first was that even though I was a half-hour early, Jeff and Heddy were setting up before I got there, and Dave M rolled in a minute later. I'm always the first one there, and I'm usually waiting a while, wondering if I got either the time or the location wrong, before anybody else shows up.

Tom H had chosen a route from Bordentown to Roebling, over roads I'd mostly been on before, although I'm so lost all the time that I could never reliably find 'em again. I was out front, following the new GPS, when the direction told us to turn into somebody's driveway, apparently to get on the Kinkora trail. I turned around to see Tom waiting for us; he told us where we could get on the trail, and soon we were off again.

(Apparently, Jack H said he was just following me when he told Tom about getting off the route. Tome wasn't having any. Tom knows how navigationally hopeless I am, and told Jack he should have known better than to follow me.)

We headed down to the Burlington Eagle.

...and, shortly thereafter:

...because Tom's rides are not complete unless there's either a bridge out or a closed road.

Today was hot and humid. I was glad for the stop at Olde World Bakery.

And back.

So here's the other "I don't know how that happened" thing: on the last ride I did with this crew (well, sorta this crew), I was suffering after the break, and was off the back, pulling down the group average. Not so today, even though the heat and humidity were similar. I was able to keep up with the group, and, at the end, stayed at the back because I chose to, making sure we didn't get too separated.

You may need to blow it up, but you can see the group off the front in that last picture. I found myself in front several times today, and complained each time that I had no business there (other riders pointed out that I had gotten myself up front, so my protestations carried little weight). I don't know why today's performance was so much better than last week's (if you have the littlest bit of interest, you can see it on the ride page). But I'm glad it was, and I hope to continue to ride with these folks.