And on Sunday I.....

As a creature of habit, I have been locked into the same cycling routine for a number of years, Saturday Roving Rides, Tuesday Canal, Thursday New Albany and sometimes hooking up back in Canal for the Sunday ride.  I kind of knew there were other rides out there but I suppose there is a certain amount of reticence to parachuting into a new group.  Would there be other slugs like me with whom to ride, would they extend the same affection (bordering on hero worship) towards me as Steve, Ryan, Craig, Dennis, Tuna, etc...  

So, I thought a recovery type ride on Sunday would be good but didn't want to drive to Canal Winchester and instead, left the house at 7:45 for an 8:00am start at the River Road Coffee House in Granville.  I had witnessed around 35 people participating in this ride last week and I thought I saw a couple of cyclists with whom I could hang if I really tried.  Showed up and there (pictured right to left) were John G, Marty, Adele, Lon Herman, Tri-Stephanie (in the background), Jon Sada and not in the image were Kim Sada, John Marten and others, totaling around 20 because several of the tri-types were competing somewhere else.

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We headed out on a promised social pace and I'll be damned but that is exactly what it was.  So social that I was able to converse with Marty without breathing too hard and listened to him describe his prominent role entertaining Katy Perry last Monday, on a yacht at Put-in-Bay (OK, I admit I wasn't certain who she is but a Google search clued me in). I was able to snap this image mid ride so you know the pace had to be slow.  Our group of seven soon separated from the others and we had a great ride out Louden, on to Appleton and eventually wound up in Centerburg where we stopped to refresh and Marty discovered Cornuts. What a beautiful day for a bike ride, huh?  We left Centerburg and with every rise in the road, Sada would ride alongside John G and challenge him to a sprint, with the outcome never in doubt but nevertheless, we encouraged the activity. We finally hit Dry Creek and then made the right onto Burg and hit the ramps.  I had been biding my time for the right opportunity and taking advantage of indifference, lapses in attention, drifting of focus......I ATTACKED!  This drew Jon Sada out but my advantage at the start was too great and he failed to bridge the gap completely although it was close at the top.  Immediately, both Marty and John announced I was the winner.  How they could tell from the distance is beyond me but they were eager.....maybe even very anxious to name me the sprint winner and proceeded to rub it in with zeal.  There is a history there I suppose.  

We finished with 61 miles, 2100' of climbing and a nice 18mph average.  I also want to pass along some valuable investment information.  I pestered Adele to give me a tip and finally, having worn down her defenses, she advised me to go long on the Pakistani Rupee. I am wiring my broker $100 tomorrow and will see how it goes. Oxley, how come you don't give me great tips like this, you're in the investment field too.

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