 Well my cycling friends, I regret I have no images of Sunday's ride. You see, it was raining and by the look of the sky to the west, dark and ominous that it was, I didn't think I'd last very long. However, I know you to be starved for information so here is a brief description of what happened. Ten of us rolled out, including Mike Wrey, Keith who lives around the corner from me and the rest were tri types on, for the most part, uncomfortable looking time trial machines. This was a relatively flat route so makes sense I guess or maybe that is their only bike. Anyway, by the time we reached Dry Creek Road, we were down to 3, Mike, Keith and me and remained that way. From watching weather radar, I knew conditions would improve as we moved north and so they did. We exited the light rain around mile 10. We three worked together well but at mile 25ish, we entered a bike path...ugh. As bike paths go, it was a nice one but lots of debris from the recent storms. We passed a monument indicating this was the highest point on this path. None of us had seen this feature before. We entered Mt Vernon and stopped at a gas station. While entertaining each other with gossip and stuff I just make up about some of you when you are not around to defend yourself, a guy in a van began driving away from a gas pump. A loud sound like... "thawk" was heard as the nozzle did not remove itself from the van but the hose that enters the pump broke free. This is the 2nd time I have witnessed this and always I wonder, "How the heck do you drive away from a gas pump with the nozzle still settled in the car's opening?" An embarrassed driver got out, picked up the hose and reattached it to the pump. This did not look safe so I entered the station, told an attendant about the incident and they took the pump out of service. Then we talked about me not having my camera and how possibly I missed the opportunity to take an image of a massive gas explosion. Anyway, we got back on the bikes and modified the route a bit, heading to Martinsburg. At mile 50, it began raining hard. Nothing like a good soaking to make you wish you'd stayed off the bike. Actually, with the humidity being so high, there wasn't much difference, wet is wet. We went west on Bell Church and after awhile, the rain diminished a little and we stopped in St Louisville for a snack just as the rain had stopped. checking radar, it appeared we could linger a few minutes and still make it to Granville without additional rain. And so we did, finishing with 73 miles, 2700' of climbing and a 17.5mph average. Well, tonight I'll be in New Albany, tormenting those who show up. Distance: 99.3 mi Elevation: + 3812 / - 3812 ft Estimated Time: 07:40:10https://ridewithgps.com/routes/23243796 You can easily cut the ride short at mile 41 and continue down Range Line to Homer and back to Granville for a total of 61. At mile 70 you can cut off 12 miles by heading down to Hanover and the bike trail back to Newark. Leaves from River Road Coffee at 8:00 AM Park in the lot/driveway east of River Road Coffee. ALL PACES. Faster groups will drop riders.
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