The Tuesday Evening Cycling Club Group Ride

Granville has a new wine bar!  I & 2 children enjoyed a glass of wine as I contemplated my first group ride in OH, in 5 years. You would think, a guy coming from southern AZ would be fit as a fiddle but alas no. For a variety of reasons, I struggled to reach 100 miles each week, usually well short.

With absolutely no prodding from me, the ride organizer, Don N, allowed his emotions to get the best of him as he greeted me.  Truthfully, it was as if I never left and I throughly enjoyed reconnecting with the gang.  

There were 43 of us for tonights journey through rural Ohio.  Rather than have 3-4 groups, the Tuesday ride has a main "Conversational B" pace group and a C group.  This evening, I'd have no conversation during the ride and as one guy tried to talk to me, all I could say was, "I'm too busy being exhausted"!

My expectation for my performance wouldn't even register on a highly sensitive Richter scale.  But, we headed out "Old 161" and I managed to hang in until we crested the high point, then descended into Alexandria.  Hey, much better than I anticipated but then a left turn and the climb on Mounts but heck, I hung in there too.  Than a right on Lobbdel and that screaming down hill, on to.....

....the kinda long Battee Road climb where.....I spit the bit.  Steve Nelson hung with me so that was nice, even giving encouragement like, "You can't do this!"  Nice.  

The group eventually regrouped at Loudon, just north of Granville.  Looking back....

....I wasn't last but....

....also, there weren't a whole lot of cyclists still arriving.  I dreaded what was to come, ugh, Stone Quarry Road.  I didn't even try to keep up, despatched out the back before the climbs began.  There I was, utterly alone in the wilderness between New Albany and Granville where it is rumored....

...packs of wolves roam, looking for wounded antelopes like me but wait!!!  What's that ahead???? Good guy Steve Nelson waiting to nurse me along...what a guy! With the hills behind us and some encouragement from others, I stayed with the group, finishing with 36 miles and an 18.6mph average.  I was actually kind of encouraged. True, I had to turn myself inside out to stay with the group but given my sad state of fitness, there is no place to go but up, well, hopefully.

I visited Easton Towne Center.  Wow!  Very impressed with the selection of restaurants and retail, including this train feature.  With that, obviously the Tuesday ride is over and now, the famous Thursday ride on the horizon.