Granville Roving Ride & Spit in the Wind

It was said by one of our brightest that the popularity of a ride leader can be measured by how many cyclists appear for an event bearing his or her name.  And so, on this glorious morning, we gathered in droves for Jeff Schleup’s Granville Roving Ride, all 9 of us.  There, were Steve O, Tuna, Canal Susan, Dentist Brad, Jeff S of course, Rick Holt and 2 other guys I did not recognize. The weather was the usual thick broiling layer of clouds, 37degree temp and threat of drizzle(or perhaps flurries). After mounting our bikes, Jeff guided us through a warm-up of perhaps 200 yards before me headed up Thresher.  Suddenly, all those layers of clothing began to feel too much but felt ok again as we coasted down to New Burg and out into the country.  

When riding, mentally drifting off is always a bad idea because of the constant threat of dogs, potholes, cars, squirrels, erratic steering by the unskilled and you never know when a deer may make a beeline through the group.  When riding with Steve O, there it is also wise to stay alert for the frequent hocking and spitting which is usually not very well aimed (or is it???).  I was riding behind him and out in front of the others when after glancing up I saw, like a hook extending from a fishes mouth, a particularly dense stream preparing to take flight on the wind.  Having had practice at this sort of thing, I checked for oncoming traffic, abruptly steered left of center and managed to avoid the projectile. 

The pace was somewhat relaxed and kept 7 of us together all the way to Utica.  So I could return in time to watch the OSU debacle, I turned back to Granville with the others set to continue on to Bladensburg and pancakes before heading south and then west on the brutal Loches and Techniglass roads.  Brad and Susan ended up taking the 45 mile loop and I think common sense prevailed and the others did a workaround that cut the miles a little and avoided some of the hardest climbs.

Sunday’s ride out of Canal at Cyclist Connection was well attended by the hardy who can hack the cold weather, For the first time in recent memory, I did not follow a route that included names like Savage, Revenge, Snortin Ridge, Reynolds, etc… as we followed a flattish route to Millersport and back for 50 miles but with a nastily brisk wind out of the northwest.

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