 Thursday morning and I join Meredith (there on the left), Marty, Cindy and Luke mid ride for another gravel experience. I think I have things figured out now and what I need to acquire. We rode up Bagley and made a left on Opera Road. Nasty climb that one on Bagley with a 25% ramp. Then it was on to....  ....New Albany but not to ride, just to observe. Dan is interested in organizing a ride that routes through Hocking Hills. I am hopeful but skeptical. Dan served a one year suspension for leading a ride that began in Lancaster and at mile 10 we were still in Lancaster, following Dan as he tried to lead us out of town. Long day that one.  A stranger rides in, Dave Chesrown. He's been spending time sitting in race cars rather than on a bike.  The Survivor, Jon Morgan, arrives, feeling good after riding into a truck the prior morning (see below).  A crowd larger than I thought, including Terry G, gathers. With the Buckeye game kicking off at 8:09 I wanted to see it in its entirety but not everyone is a crazed fan.  Quite a few new people were among the roughly 50-55 who came out, including a tandem. The C group had only 3 people and so probably we should put some effort into attracting more newbies. Maybe Veloscience can assist as Cyclist Connection does with the Canal Winchester ride.  I made some largely incoherent comments about a route change and beginning September 21, we move the start time to 5:30pm. With that, out went the Riveters who later, would travel the 40 mile route at a 23.8 average.  Hey wait a sec. Danny A hanging back to roll out with the A group. I must assume that he honored the code, behaved and took it easy so to be ready for a race this weekend. The A group got going and then the....  ....B group. What a weird feeling to still be standing in the parking lot. Better get used to it. In a year or two it will be my new norm. I jumped in the car and headed east so I could begin downing alcoholic beverages and eating chips prior to the game. But wait! What's this.....  .....Logan P simply standing at the side of the road at mile 2. I checked to make sure it was not a mechanical but no, just the legs were not feeling it tonight so he was going to jump in with the A group. I continued but wait! There was.....  ....the Riveters approaching the turn on Mink Road. Travis leading the way and I have heard some rumblings that next year there ought to be a Rivet group and then a Rivet+ group. Travis is becoming so strong, he is separating himself from most of the Riveters. That's it for today folks although I will post a Saturday ride in a few.  I ran out of somewhat creative ways to describe the omnipresent chance of rain each Thursday so will cut to the chase. Note the route has us going out Jug, a minefield of holes and crumbling pavement. I hope that the absence of any patching indicates it is on the schedule for paving? Anyway, there will be a parking lot adjustment to the route so pay attention! The routes: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489347 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489390 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489432
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 Jon Morgan was riding eastbound on 161 this morning. Approaching Patterson Road to his right, a westbound car turned in front of Jon, making it uncomfortably close. Immediately thereafter, an eastbound, white truck swerves around Jon and turns in front of him, giving Jon no option but to collide into the back end. The driver stopped, could not explain his actions but was clearly shaken. Doing a quick check of bike and body, Jon was surprisingly ok as was his bike other than a brake adjustment. He rode back to New Albany and to work. Later, feeling a little stiff he went to the ER but he is ok and may be out for the Thursday NA ride. Very, very fortunate outcome.  Actually, nor for Friday and how does that not impact Thursday? Perhaps it will steer east. Harvey is chugging towards us.  Monday, I rode a mountain bike following a gravel route. Friday I rode a gravel bike on what my friend called an "intermediate" gravel route. Well, that did not go so well. Descending a steep hill with a stop sign at the bottom, loose gravel, braking I found impossible so I just plunged down and through the intersection. There I dubbed my friend the "Widow Maker" and the bike the "Death Machine". I'm not so sure about this activity. But.....  ....there is almost always a tomorrow and so we came out for a 9:00am start from New Albany to follow a shortish, 58 mile route to the east.  Good turnout of about 23 cyclists.  We go out 161 to Watkins where we made a right and eventually got into....  ....Granville where Meredith shows proper guzzling form.  Most stayed on the sidewalk rather than go inside CVS for food or drink.  Jon Morgan admires Jay P's stretching routine. I broke from the group here, legs tired from Thursday and Friday rides, to skip the Jones Road climb and loop. I ate and drank and then....  ....rode to the end of Welsh Hills to jump back in. I waited and waited and thought I had missed them but alas, as Strava Flyby showed me later, another 5 minutes and I would have rejoined. Then I went out New Burg Street, to the top of the hill where I waited again. Soon, I saw them round the corner and take the school cut through. Great! They were on the route and I had over shot it. I made my way west where I discovered....  ....the bridge on Concord is now passable. How about that! Finished with 45 miles. Then Sunday...  ....Marty joins the Sunday morning Granville ride after arriving from France the evening before. Some of Marty's friends are peeved because while kite boarding and practically sharing a nudist beach, he failed to send pics. I am going to France in 2018, with camera, to right the wrongs. I started with this group but when the serious hills were to kick in, headed west to do 110 flatter miles. It's part of the plan.  Note the start time is 9:00am, at which time the temp should be over 60 if that is important to you. From behind Starbucks at a B+ pace with a couple of regroups. Route a tad short because of commitments by the organizer but you can always start with us and then go longer, as likely I will do. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19771401  Danny A pulls in with his new replacement bike. The derailleur broke from the prior frame. His first attempt was denied but he tried again and this time, it was approved.  After another growing season, some of the trees are beginning to throw off enough shade to allow some protection.  And there we have it; the reason many of us come out for the Thursday evening ride! In a couple of hours, the back of Kristie's car would be swarming with hungry cyclists.  Jeff and Dan drove to TN to catch the eclipse. Dan had a good story that involved....  ....helping a guy pry his truck out of the ditch, above left. Check out the traffic. Kenda Janet told me of a friend that sat in a car for 5 hours while proceeding only 102 miles during the drive back from eclipse watching.  They begin to gather. Small in numbers at first but.....  ....building as the witching hour nears. Note Andrew wearing a wind jacket. Note the beautiful sky and near perfect weather, for once for a Thursday evening ride.  Interesting story. Chris, center, puts a bike out for sale at a bike shop's swap day. Jared wanders into that shop, sees the bike, restores it and shazam! The two are reunited (Chris & old bike) this evening. Note Kristie trying to get out of the image but too late.  Jim on the left rolls up to send us out. Last week, a woman passed him on the right so he warned us not to do so. Later, Paul Djupe passed me on the right and I screamed, "You weren't listening to Jimmy tonight."  Because I am plugged in to things, I know that some of the Riveters gather in Starbucks to plot and scheme and then come out and execute the plan. Tonight, Jon and Travis led us out of town like horses breaking from the gate at the Preakness. No warm-up just hammer time. I know, I know, you are thinking, "Sure you'd think it was fast but probably it was not." My 2 pieces of evidence: 1. I was pedaling as hard as I could to keep up (ok, not very compelling). 2. At the Kitzmiller turn at roughly mile 1, Jon and Travis rolled to the back!!! When has anyone ever rolled off the front from a warm-up effort? Was this a plan to shed me quickly or, the guy in full MI kit was in the group and they were trying to get rid of him? Going from 0 to 30 hit my legs hard and I was pretty much done. I hung on until mile 7, came around a corner and began the sprint to catch when my foot came unclipped. Thank goodness! I was toast anyway. I stopped and waited for quite awhile and here came a huge A group. 20-25 fun people (Kristian, Katherine, Deniece, Paul D, Andrew, Jared, Kim, Dirty D, Kristie, Michael, Hector, etc....) and it is so much more fun to be able to breathe! We followed the uberflat route (folks, I don't create the routes, simply promote them as a low level PR hack) and it was quite civil with turns taken at a modest pace and so this is the situation on the road at this point in time:  Apparently around Galena, the Rivet group got split at an intersection. Least you think this happens only in the Rivet group, so too in the A group. Our group was mostly still intact by the time we arrived at that funky intersection on Duncan Plains Road. There you stop, make a right turn then a quick left. Our group was strung out from this maneuver and besides, there was a church bus full of nuns and a van with a sign that offered free internet service to distract us. That's when Paul Djupe attacked!!!! If the nickname "Dirty" was not already ably taken by Dan, I'd have to consider throwing it to Paul. It's all in good fun and we did eventually track Paul down. I finished with 42 miles and a 22.4mph average (that couple of miles with the Riveters skews my average up a bit). The Rivets finished with a 24.6 avg!!!!!  At the parking lot, Scott was showing off wounds from a fall toward the end of the ride but he was ok and then we got to the serious business of....  ......he long train begins to form at Kristie's trunk.  Wow, first time, long time no rain forecast for the Thursday New Albany ride. Wheels up at 6:00pm from behind the Heit Center in New Albany, as usual. Come out for the spectacle of it all. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489194 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489236 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489264  So much talk about gravel rides so I decided to try it out. Rather than a gravel bike, I had an opportunity to ride a lightweight mountain bike. I selected a short route of 34 miles and....  ....off I went, just my shadow and me. Departing from Granville, I got onto Dry Creek Road and then.....  ....the first gravel section, the modest Cat Run Road. Some of my thoughts from this experience....  ....lots of cows out here along.....  .....and on the gravel roads. As I approached this group, they suddenly stormed into the corn to the left. No kidding, it was a mini stampede! Following roughly 34 miles, I re-entered Granville just when....  ....it began to pour!!!!! I took shelter under an awning at CVS but only for a few minutes and about a mile from my car.  I enjoyed the experience with new roads and new scenery. I did not like wearing running shoes on flat pedals so feet were always moving around. For sure, for me, a cross bike set up similarly to my road bike is the way to go, rather than a mountain bike. Having my hands spread farther apart with no option for changing hand placement was crummy. I am being taken out by a real pro this Friday and I hope to be on a cross bike so will report on that.  Saturday morning and radar showed two lines of showers to the west but what the heck, on to Logan for what was an excellent route on good pavement, marked turns, plenty of but not too many climbs, etc... I left my camera in the car so have nothing else to show but it turned out to be a beautiful day with mostly sunny skies. Only 26 came out, no doubt many decided not to come as the hourly forecast was not promising. Virtually everyone did the 73 mile route with 4500' of climbing. A strong salute to Chuck Luzader for the maps, cue sheet and marking the roads. Then.....  ....the rain rolled in for Saturday late afternoon. Here, it poured for an hour+ so I sat a bit on the front porch and spotted the first preying mantis of the season. Ghastly looking creature but he probably thinks the same of me.  Sunday morning and the start of a 7:30am ride out of New Albany. I should have put the notice of this ride on the blog but was lazy. Don Novel on the right. Don manages a service center so helped settle a disagreement between Flyin Tuna and me. FT lives a couple miles from me so we decided to car pool to Logan. Soon into the drive, the check engine light came on in her truck. Since the dashboard on my car is always lit like a Christmas tree, I have learned to ignore these things. Anyway, FT immediately pulls off the road and turns off the engine. I'm like, "Wait, what? Just drive." We debate, she considers calling 911 to see if they can offer an opinion. Eventually, we get going but this morning, with.....  ....FT listening, I ask Don, the expert and he confirms my diagnosis. Just drive and have the engine checked at some point in the next few days. Turns out it was an oxygen sensor so no big deal. Good group of people got going on a 70 mile route, 18 of us to start. Some of you know I am following a plan that is intended to lift me from a mediocre, low B cyclist to the threshold of a mediocre, medium B cyclist. Jon Hastings updates the plan each day and it has been interesting to follow but also counter intuitive. That probably means everything I have previously done on a bike has been wrong. Anyway, today I was to do something less than 70 so when.....  ....I discovered Aaron C battling with a flat tire, I opted out of the group, lent him moral support before taking a direct route to Granville and eventually finishing with 51 miles. Another personal note; I have been influenced by all this talk about "Gravel Grinding" so am shopping for a 59cm gravel bike. I may have found one from Mike McClinchie who has a very nice Pivot coming available in October. However, if anyone out there wants to rid themselves of a decent gravel bike, let me know. I will borrow a bike this week to try a gravel route. Thereafter I may not be interested so will see.  Here is the first option for Saturday. I have the routes posted below for the 72ish mile route and 100ish mile routes. 8:00 AM - 72 or 100 miles, Class A, B Both routes take you thru the scenic Hocking Hills and Zaleski State Forests with a stop at the Lake Hope Beach Snack Bar. Century route takes you beyond Vinton County into Wellston. Climbing gears recommended as hills will be abundant. Meet at the Logan Conference Center, 30682 Chieftain Drive, Logan, OH. Directions from Columbus: Route 33 southeast to Logan (bypass Lancaster) to the 33A/Route 180 exit (just past the roadside rest). Turn left on 33A off the ramp. The Conference Center is 3 miles on the left (just past the Logan-Hocking Industrial Park). Chuck Luzader, [email protected]. Mark Clingan, [email protected]. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1591157 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/10200298  Hey there potential Thursday cyclists! The Cycling Club's "Storm Team Forecasters" are cautiously pessimistic about this evening's ride being storm free but here are the routes in case I...errrr.....we are wrong. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489006 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489104 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489159  Grand Poobah watches as Paul Stock, surprised to discover a flat tire, rapidly fixes it. It was that kind of night for the men and women of the Tuesday Canal Winchester ride.  Dean is back on the bike after a 6 week hiatus caused by a crash with a dog. He got a new helmet out of the deal and a very expensive invoice from the emergency room visit. Ouch. As big as Dean's return was, since it was only 6 weeks there was a bigger return.....  .....how about this sighting! Craig Butler, formerly "Da Boss" of the peloton (this was before, Marty, Travis, Ken, Jon, Terry, Luke, Lori, Patrick...well quite a few others who got serious about the sport) came out for his 6th ride of the year. It's been several years since he rode with us. Still running those crazy 100 mile trail run events but kind of excited about cycling so maybe he will re-enter the game. It's an entirely different game in certain locales.  This event has been getting a good turnout this season. Ric Nolan, of Cyclist Connection, urges new cyclists to come out who visit his store and they do. There have been as many as 3, C groups roll out.  I think it also helps that the ride start is in front of Brewdogs so some people come for the JBD (justify beer drinking), do the ride and then stroll in for a pint or two.  The A group rolled out, still not a large turnout for that one, then the above B+ group gets going, followed by the regular B and then 1-3 C groups.  An idyllic roll out via a bike path but soon we are on open roads, passing Jeff and Mitch who are fixing a flat and then a few miles later.....  .....whoa. Got to leave the group to get a pic of this. The woman on the left was anxious to fix her own flat, no doubt about it but Jake Dillon insisted that she keep her hands clean and to allow a professional to do the chore. Once they got going, I rode with them but they soon wore me out so I left this group, got in some planned 4 minute intervals while heading north to get on the return portion of the route. There I stumbled upon the Rossi tandem and rode back with them, finishing with 34 miles and an 18.1 avg. Then I strolled into Brewdogs and had a cold beer while buying one for Corvair. She was celebrating the return to a normal life by holding down one job rather than two.  So there I am, spray painting patio furniture when Tym and Lisa Tyler ride by. Usually, seeing them on bikes is not the least bit unusual but one week ago, Tym was involved in a crash that decimated about a 1/3 of the peloton. Good news! He has a Level 2 should separation so with some tape and powerful drugs, he is on the bike. Probably riding out of Canal tonight, as am I and I think Flyin Tuna is also making a rare appearance.  Lisa, always smiling and enjoying the spectacle of me talking Tym into having his pic taken. The things I do to provide you all with content to read.  Poor Kenda Paul, as if having to obey Janet's edicts and orders is not stressful enough, Flyin Tuna instructs him too. Twelve came out for today's clockwise loop through Centerburg, Mt Vernon, Martinsburg and back to Granville. Flat for the first half, kind of hilly for the second half for our 70 mile ride.  Kristian on the left with wife Katherine in Pittsburg for a golf tournament. Bitten by the golf bug, we wonder if she will ever ride again. Michael on the right behind Janet and Deniece. We rode together for a few.....  ....miles but it was obvious there were two groups that should form as some of us either did not want to ride very hard or could not (me being one for sure). Two things of note. Preston Road is now open. Second, the route encountered lots of newly paved roads. Included was 586 on the climb out of Mount Vernon. Fantastic surface. Well, that all I have time to cover so until next time....  Here we go for a Saturday option. 70 miles, 8:00am start, Wildwood Park in Granville start. Full disclosure, there is about 10 miles of bike path riding into Mt Vernon...I know, yuck. Some of us will take a lunch break in Martinsburg at our favorite diner...well the only place to eat lunch there but all are welcome to ride at whatever pace you want, dine or don't dine on greasy burgers there are elsewhere. Offically a B pace ride with regroups as needed. Again, if you want to come and blaze the route with a sub group, that is way ok too. The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/24114698  Many of you have heard of the carnage from two crashes on Tuesday, one at the Dublin ride and one at the New Albany ride. Having interviewed witnesses to the New Albany incident, I can confirm it was the fault of Dirty Dan. True; Dan was not there but some how, some way he had to be involved. Sounds like Erik touched the wheel of the guy in front and thus set off a chain reaction that had 6 people down. Thank goodness, other than Erik's broken collarbone and Tym Tyler's likely separated shoulder, the others got off with band aids.  Decent turnout for this evening's festivities, including Kristian in center with Mick on the right.  Scott Billman won his age category at the Alpe d' Denison hill climb challenge a couple of weeks back. Paul was assigned the task of delivering the award when next he saw Scott so tonight was the presentation. Scott downplayed the achievement, claiming he was alone in the category but you can only compete against those who show up. Paul rode Pelotonia and was impressed with how extroverted was George Hincapie. George stayed for 2 hours after the ride to socialize.  Milt on the left, Michael center and well known Riveter Terry on the right. Michael was describing what he went through during the Tuesday crash. He put a bunch more thought into the actual crash, thinking how to hit and roll, how to avoid obstacles, all during the fall. My thought would have been simple; NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!  The Cooks back from Utah while watching the Tour of Utah and riding many of the same roads. Peggy was hoarse from cheering.  We issued a couple of warnings about road conditions, altered the route a little and the Rivets were sent out, only 12 of them. Sooooooo, I rode out with them and you'd have thought there was a circus performance going on. I have asked Dan (cause he would never make fun of me) to send me the names of those who were insulting me so I can shine the white hot light of the blog on them. To answer one of the jeers, "You won't last 4 miles with them." I did. Actually, 14 and to the foot of the Hardscrabble climb where Aaron and I decided to throttle back a wee bit. To that point I had a 24.1 average.  We rode on up to the top of Hardscrabble where we waited for the A group. Staying on Hardscrabble, we then made a right on Northridge and quickly another right onto Stone Quarry. I much prefer the east bound direction of this road so that was good.  We regrouped at Louden and then covered Dry Creek, right on Burg and circled to the entrance of Denison U. I don't know if it was the Rivet effort coupled with the humidity or what but I was not feeling so good. Rather than do the Ebaugh Drive climb I stayed straight, went through Granville and waited at the bottom of Thornwood for the group. Soon, they came through but so too did.....  ....the B group and I decided to go at a slightly easier pace. There in the distance was the A group but wait! They were spread across the road so the pace had eased up....I checked myself and felt much better so I.....leapt across the gap and rode the rest of the way with the guys and gals of Company A. A medium rain began a number of miles from New Albany and we all received a good soaking. I finished with a 22.3 average while the Rivets had a 24 average.  Back at the parking lot, bike cleaning was happening.....  ....including Isaac, meticulously attending to his machine. Well, that's about it folks. Something for Saturday coming soon.  Would it be a Thursday without the chance of rain? Let me answer that one for ya cause it's easy; NO! But, the chance of precip is minimal and so little doubt we will ride. Come out and fill the ranks from C, to B, to A to Riveters. The routes (Yikes, the Ebaugh Drive climb through the campus): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19449353 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19449368 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19449449  As some of you know, our middle daughter, Olivia, received a very good job offer from The Westin to manage a couple of restaurants in Tucson. Since she shares my disaffection for our Ohio winters, had she received a very bad job offer she would have moved to AZ anyway. A great way to beat the summer heat is to head....  ....up where the temps are 25 degrees cooler. Wouldn't that be great if Ohio had a really deep valley and if you drove down you would find temps 25 degrees warmer? Arizona is such a neat place. If you are new to this silly blog, in the not too distant future I'll post lots and lots of hiking reports from AZ.  The destination off the Butterfly Trail on the top of Mount Lemmon, a roaring waterfall fed by abundant monsoon rains. Been a good monsoon season so far.  Dennis Gomolak sent me this image, taken by his wife as she watched George Hincapie enter Granville, riding the Pelotonia 100 mile route. Dennis was riding the 55 mile route and overtaken by George in Utica. Dennis told George, "Welcome to Ohio." to which George replied, "Thanks man."  Let this be a lesson to you; don't listen to me when I don't know what I am talking about. There was plenty, maybe even ample, parking behind Starbucks. All the concern that people should ride in from satellite parking lots was unfounded. Oh well.  Sandy Donald, upright and suffering from no ill effects from Thursday's graceful fall. We move to the front of Starbucks, the official meeting spot and .....  ....find Meredith, Kyle, Chris, Marty talking to Dave C and arranging to pick him up as we depart New Albany. Brad on the right. A good group of hardy cyclists that also included....  Dirty Dan and Deniece.  We roll out with 22-23 and then pass.....  ....Jeff S who was waiting for us. See Jeff ride. Ride Jeff ride! He did catch us and later we added Tym & Lisa T. We passed many Pelotonians riding in the opposite direction. A police motorcyclist announced loudly to us, "You're going the wrong way!" Not sure if he was joking with us or not.  We followed a rolling route that included Seminary Road and got on to Ridley's Tract Road where we passed.....  ....the infamous Burning Tree Golf Course. Infamous because it is one of the worst courses in Ohio but years ago, while digging a pond, the course owner, Sherm Byers, unearthed an almost perfectly preserved Mastodon. Then we arrived next to....  ....Dawes Arboretum where Marty promised there would be spring water to drink. Unfortunately, the water line was being repaired so we paused briefly to refuel while standing on the side of the road. So far, we pretty much had everyone together except for 3-4 people.  This is what it looks like when you are practically the last person to arrive at a regroup point. Everyone stares at you. It's kind of embarrassing but my legs were not feeling so good on this hilly section that included (Un)Pleasant Valley Road, Watson and well, lots of other roads.  At mile 47, we paused in Newark which is becoming a happening place with all the construction and restaurant/retail moving in. Alas, the coffee shop had only coffee to drink so Dan, Larry, Lisa, Jeff and me went around the corner to the UDF shop.  Isaac's stylish sock and shoe combo. Someone said only a pimp would wear that but I disagree but not strongly. The gang rode around the corner to pick us up at the UDF but a troubling episode occurred. I think it demonstrates the quality of the character but you be the judge. Lisa, Larry & Jeff had just exited the building with a snack and were not ready to go. Dan leaped to his feet and shouted, "Can't miss the draft opportunity." Thus leaving the three alone to face the horrid SW winds going back to NA. Of course I wanted to stay to help the three-some but what if Dan was unable to catch the group? He would be easy prey to Newark's underworld so I went with him.  Our route had us going through Granville so we saw Granville's notable outpouring of support. There had been some talk about avoiding Granville but I'm glad we got to witness the Pelotonians who kept coming and coming and just when they stopped coming.....  ....they entered 161 and were now riding alongside us for a little while. Above we wait to be waved through an intersection. Tym & Lisa with Gavin. Finished with 70 miles, 2800' of climbing and an 18.6 average.  Starting at 8:30am from in front of Starbucks. Will have no issue with Pelotonia. Can't park behind Heit Center but New Albany High School is an option or an adjacent park or the Park-n-Ride on Beech. This is a Marty led ride full of fun, a couple of regroups, avid hill attacks or whatever you want. Route is:https://ridewithgps.com/trips/16615060  Here is a sight you don't often, maybe never, see, a snow blower with a bike, in August. Larry, aka Larry van Gogh (note the partially severed left ear just like Vincent) is known to be frugal. So, he bought the snow blower, never to be used cause that's how that goes, in August when prices are low.  Few can make an entrance like Danny A and few made an entrance at all but then in the last 5 minutes, the parking lot was swarming with bikes and vehicles. Fifty+ came out for this evening's ride. With Pelotonia this Saturday, I thought that pretty good.  Pretty funny scene. He made sure the driver knew he was back there and if it was ok to lean the bike against the machine. Wouldn't want to put a scratch on the CAT.  Chris Grisvard, center, making a rare appearance bracketed by Travis and Danny. The Rivets would put in a 23.5 average on our kind of difficult, 48 mile route.  The Rivets departed and then Scott B shoves off to lead out the A group. Big group of A's around 25, including Chris in the center. After tonight, Chris was given a promotion to the Rivet group. Don't come back kid, you are way too good for the A group.  Shari on the right and just entering the picture on the left is Sandy. Sandy fell over at the light on 310 & 161. My reflexes were too slow to get a pic of a somewhat graceful "timber!".  As usual, we got hung up at the Beech Road light but got going. Big contingent of the HH gang, including Sokha, Randy, Moto, etc... I think it was Moto who acknowledged that he enjoyed reading the blog. Larry asked if anyone had ever said that to me before and I had to admit I could recall only one other occasion. Sad, I know.  Dirty Dan gives me the evil eye look. The pace into Granville was not too hard, arriving with a 23 avg and get this....I pulled up the Moots Run climb so that kept everyone in the game. Thresher Road climb was tough but we regrouped at the top and again at the turn off Hardscrabble onto Connor.....  ....at Sportsman Club Road, maybe that is it. Well, then there was a stop for a......  ....flat tire. Mick above with Ron B closing in. Chris, a bike mechanic, had the flat. Wish I had stayed at the flat scene and witnessed the tutorial. Anyway, we got rolling again soon and finished with....  ....a 21.5 avg for the 48 mile romp through the countryside. Hey! Working on plans for a Saturday ride so stay tuned.  It appears there will be a stray thunderstorm rolling through here at 4:21:31pm and then (insert sound of drum roll here) thereafter clear for the Thursday Cycling Club ride at 6:00pm!!! How bout that! Some of you will want to ride but save your legs for a big effort at Pelotonia or alternative ride (more on that tomorrow). A couple of dingbats are headed to Deliverance country for the Mountain Mama century ride and maybe they too will ride tonight but drop back a group. That is good but remember, be a good sport and ride at the pace of the group with whom you ride. The routes: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19449259 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19449277 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19449305  The French Climbing Machine. Peering to see who was showing up for the ride prior to deciding, "I'd rather do intervals on 161." Come on buddy! It's not that bad. Plus, you are not invited to post ride festivities in the back of Kristie's trunk unless you participate.  A sad moment as the Tuesday peloton comes to grips with the fact that Christian, on the left, is moving to the great state of Michigan. OK, my credibility is so low I probably should rescind much of that comment and just state, "He is moving to that state up north." Sounds like he has a good situation for he and his wife, even if it is in the state up north.  Erick rolls in and said nothing of Garrett County Gran Fondo so he must have moved on. Full disclosure; I still think of it Erik and the pain has not gone away.  How about that! We roll out, around 32 of us. I was supposed to not do a hard ride so....  ...soon after this pic was taken at mile 1, I turned around. ok, got in around 28 easy miles. For those of you not riding Pelotonia or making that arduous drive to Monterey, VA for Mountain Mama, there will be a good ride this Saturday. One of the heavy of the heaviest weights is plotting a ride! |
