Catching Up, Jon Morgan, Paul Stock, Saturday Rides, etc...

Like many of the missing, Paul Stock has been attending to his parental duties but will return to the Thursday New Albany ride in a couple of weeks.  THE Muscle Dude should be showing up in a week or two as well. 

I rode the Blue Jay route Tuesday morning, kind of scouting the route as part of my exhaustive preparation for the COP Roving Ride on June 28th.  Along for the ride was Jeff S and Flyin Tuna.  The route is as hard as ever as we finished with 68 miles and 6000' of climbing.  There will be a longer option on the 28th.  Wanting to do 100 miles for the day, I jumped in with the Cycling Club group ride out of New Albany.  Among others there were Doug McConaha, Gus & Peggy Cook, Keith, Crazy George, Jay P, Bill around 14 as we slogged through brief showers over to Alexandria and beyond.  I miscalculated and finished the day with 99.8 miles but that's ok.  We crossed the infamous Jersey Mill Road cut-out, the scene of Jon Morgan's fall during last Thursday's ride.  I can see now why he went down, it's a loose and uneven mix of gravel.  Fortunately, Jon is well on his way to 100%, recently having a tube removed that had been shoring up a partially collapsed lung.  The grapevine tells me he will be back next week.

Saturday brings some good options for a ride but one, the "Big Fat Group Ride" was postponed until later in the year.  Otherwise there is the COP "Welsh Hills Roving Ride" a 57 mile route beginning in Pataskala at 9:00am.  Here is a link to the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4077393 and here is a link to additional information: http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/cycling.calendar?eventId=893126&EventViewMode=2&CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=5/14/2014.  Note the route will undergo a minor change to avoid the gravel portion of Hankinson.

Then there is Bike Ohio's tour:
Tour of the Hocking River - Lancaster Ohio -  35 to 100 mile courses.  Terrain flat to hilly.  The 100 mile route has 6800 ft. of climbing.  50 miles and under courses are as flat as they can be. The route picks up the Hocking River in Bremen and goes to Logan, and from there the Century  and 78 mile routes go to the Hocking Hills.   Cost is $35 by 5/14, $40 5/15 - 5/16 and increases to $50 the day of the event.  Cost for 17 and under is $20 by 5/14, $25 5/15 - 5/16 and increases to $35 the day of the event.  Children and their parents/guardians must sign a release at the start of the ride. More information can be found at: https://bike-ohio.wildapricot.org/Events.aspx?eventId=811867&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Lastly, Rick Miller will be tending to a conflict and has asked that I fill in for him on Thursday.  Yes, the good times will roll again as I release the hounds to racing unsafely on open roads. Stop sign jumpers, cunning warriors of the peloton, red light runners, gutterers, inside passers, squirrelly cyclists and others who flaunt the rules of the road are asked to come so they can be educated and learn the error of their ways.  The grapevine has again spoken and I hear an enforcer has been hired to dole out chops to the pencil necks of the offenders.