I feel like it's been a long time since I posted a ride article, but it's only two weeks. I did put up a post about one of the best German words ever, and another for the eulogy I gave for my mother (I was at her funeral last week; that's why I wasn't around to ride or lead). But I didn't link to those posts on Facebook, and, as a result, they were pretty universally ignored.
We got back from the funeral in Buffalo mid-week (family note: it included a reconciliation on my also-problematic relationship with my sister; there may be another post about that [there may not]), and I've gotten a couple of rides in. Laura OLPH invited a few friends on a ride, using a route that Tom H made up, and it was a good ride and good to see those people again, but nothing about it seemed blog-worthy (and the pictures weren't much). Yesterday, Laura led us on a ride of the loop of the Lawrence-Hopewell trail. You can use that link as a route map, if you like. I had high hopes for one picture showing the steepness of the climb from the bridge on the closed-to-cars section of Province Line Road, but neither of the two I got came out. (In other news, though, the Krakow Monster works well as a gravel bike, even in friction-shifting mode. On the gravel sections of the trail, I was shifting about every twenty feet of travel.)
Today, I listed a club ride. My usual route to the Sweet Gourmet in Montgomery starts out over the Blackwells Mills Causeway, but part of that access is closed between my start location and the bridge. I slammed together an adjusted route, and then saw this morning that I'd inadvertently routed on highways, so I quick made the changes... but the route everybody had downloaded was the wrong one. I announced the change at the start, but I suspect my regulars would have used the corrected route anyway.
I limited to twenty, and, except for two last-minute cancellations, it was full. The Excellent Wife (TEW) thinks they're all crazy for coming out in this cold.
Ghina, above, asked about the bandanna I keep tied around my left forearm on cold-weather rides; I said it was to wipe my nose, as I'm unskilled at that snot-rocket thing that some cyclists do. She replied with a story about a fellow rider, whom she referred to as a "brother-in-spoke". The story is of no importance, but "brother-in-spoke" needs to be enshrined in cycling lore.
We had a range of abilities, as I often have on my rides, and some rolled off the front; I made sure the folks in the back kept up. The day was cold and raw. Despite the range of abilities, and a newcomer whom I did not know, we kept up and stayed together through the stop at Sweet Gourmet:
After the stop, I slowed down; I got caught behind some traffic before a turn onto River Road, and then got caught behind more traffic at the Griggstown Causeway crossing. I was tired, and it was clear that the rest of the group was not in trouble, so I went back to the start alone, at a parade pace... until I saw Ricky and Steve S waiting for me, so I picked up the pace to keep pace with them, and to say my thanks and goodbyes to the riders still in the lot.
You can see the route, and my pace, here.
So the ride's done, and the laundry is in, and the funeral's over, and the Christmas decorations are up. Back to some sensibility, for now.
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