Saturday Ride Option

It was early and already hot and muggy.  Larry P has applied the base coat of sun screen and now just needs to rub it in.  Or, he just likes the stuff in splotches.

Eleven of us head east on Concorde.  Unbeknownst to us, a group of seven led by Steve N is steaming from the south but alas, they got a late start and missed hooking up with us by a minute or two.

We reach Bladensburg and stop at the gas station for our first and only break.  We did not arrive together as Jeff had a flat, Larry stopped, most of us pretended not to know and those that did know, were sworn to silence.  Actually, with only a few miles to go, we just figured to regroup in town. Ted bought a huge jug of water that we shared with Isaac and Laura staring into space.  Soon......

.....Jeff and Larry arrive and shun us for awhile.  Not a good idea though, this far from the start so they eventually warmed to us.

We begin our journey back while admiring the idyllic country scenery. We avoided Granville so as not to intrude on the Pelotonia celebration but ended up.....

....sharing part of the route, here on Bell Church Road.  A highway patrol motorcyclist approached, followed by a lone cyclist.  It was quite a while before we saw another cyclist so this guy had a good lead.  I hear Ken Buddell had the fastest time but the person we passed above did not look like Ken.

We left the Pelotonia route but then got back on it, passing many going in the opposite direction. We finished with 68 miles and 3000'+ of climbing.  Good route although a little flat at the end.  Isaac tried to leave us while one of us took a nature break but our combined power was too great and we eventually over took him.  Ha!

An option for those who are not participating in Pelotonia. 8:00am from the gazebo in Johnstown, at the intersection of 62 and 37. B pace with a few regroups but as always, if you want to go faster or slower in a different group, that is good too. Easy way to shorten the route and gain fat while waiting in Martinsburg for the group to come through. May be another ride option posted later, from Hocking Hills.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28237873