The FINAL Thursday New Albany Report

Two distinct groups gathered in a parking lot that suddenly finds itself bathed in shade prior to the start of the ride.  The angle of the sun has dropped enough that now the school building blocks it.  Wish that were the case in July.  Above, Christian, Dave C, Poobah, Hendra, Lori, don't remember his name and Eugene gather around Katherine's car.  Poobah, looking at the route, rolled over to Katherine and warned her not to attack the down hill on York.  Funny.  I think Lori said she ran 20 miles earlier today.

Dave Chesrown and the back-up bike.  If you have to ride a back-up bike, not a bad option.  No word yet if the warranty will cover the Cervelo broken on Sunday's ride. 

Panzerwagen Hendra with a very serious and focused look on his face in the middle.  Hard to believe but last week, he was dropped through Stone Quarry and so came out tonight to dole out some punishment.  There was also talk about setting a new group ride average speed.  Only 20-22 people showed up, with Dave, Marty, Jon, Terry G, Hendra, John Day, Mick, Gus and a couple others rolling out with the A group, bound for the 35 mile route.

A small but strong B group rolled out soon thereafter.  Someone calculated the B group would have to average 21mpg to make it around the 28 mile route prior to the 7:19pm sunset.  Above, Peggy falls in behind Dirty Dan, who is behind Andrew who is behind new guy Marty who is behind Poobah who is always behind someone.  Also joining us was Mark V, Bruce, Lori, Eugene, Katherine, Christian and a couple others. 

Arriving at 310, we caught up with Gus and Mick, who had been shelled by Hendra's onslaught out old 161.  Note the long shadows already and so early into our ride.  We eventually made the right on to York where I suggested we regroup after the two climbs.  No sense leaving anyone out there alone if they had already made it this far with the group.  Turning right on Hollow, we were immediately blinded by the sun, low on the horizon and then soon thankful it dropped below the tree line.  We arrived back on 161 and the return at sunset, rolling into the parking lot with exactly a 21mph average and behind the A group.....

.....who stayed on the B route and finished with a 24mph average.  Don't think that is a record but very close.  Note Terry G has returned to cycling, healed from his injuries of earlier in the year.  I also finally asked John Day if while he played for OSU did he receive envelopes stuffed with cash but he claims no.  I guess he should have gone with an SEC school. 

The final Thursday New Albany route can be found by going to Shannon's web site.  With a sunset of 7:19pm, choose your route carefully.
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