 Farmer Mike, Licking Counties' largest land holder, also known as the "Land Baron of Licking County" has returned from his palatial estate in Florida. I found him back by the dumpster, filling a water bottle. Seemed an odd place to perform the task but anyway, it's great to have Mike back in the peloton. I arrived with 63 miles already put in for the day, riding around Hocking Hills, including ascending Wildcat Hollow Road, a beautiful ride through a rock lined gorge with lots of other climbs thrown in there too, finishing with 4400' of climbing. Could not miss the Thursday ride so after a brief stop at home to change clothes, out I came with modest ambitions other than to finish with 100 miles for the day.  Former Thursday ride leader and current triathlon event kingpin Shannon Kurek came out for his first Thursday ride of the season. He seemed happy to be here.  Doug McConaha on the left with Philippe, Hendra and one other. Philippe weighs only 135 pounds. So envious am I as I sit here eating leftover Easter candy.  Rick Miller, with his back turned, managing the chaotic sign-in process. A sycophant to his right, trying to gain points by wearing a matching jersey (just kidding). Since the A route went up Hardscrabble Road, infamous for a nut-job driving that black Honda, the group was warned. With radar indicating some precip moving in, I was surprised that 60+ cyclists showed up.  The A group was especially strong, led by Marty, Jon Morgan, Terry G, Patrick, Hendra, Pete C, Shannon,K, and on and on, around 30 of them rolled out., finishing with a 23.8mph average.  My attention was alerted to some good image opps but the battery died. Too bad. I rolled out with the B group, keeping a wary eye on a couple of youngsters who ride erratically, an understatement, but they'll learn. I was riding on a Saturday a couple of years ago with Marty, Dave C, John Sada and others when John began to describe his ride with the Thursday B group. Abruptly, one of us barked, "No one cares about the B group." ending the description so knowing this, I will keep the report short. Good group including Rick, Dirty Dan, Grand Poobah, Mark V, Jeremy, Benny and others totaling around 20. The pace was exactly what I needed and I enjoyed the ride. Arriving at the parking lot 4 miles short of 100 miles, I went back out for 4 more and saw the lead A+ group finishing, down to 6-7 cyclists.  New Ride Start Location (please park close to 3rd street entrance)
New Albany Methodist Church 20 3rd St New Albany, Oh 43054 WEEK 3 Ride With GPS downloadable routes 45 Mile A-Pace http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4514343 32 Mile B-Pace http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4514388 20 Mile C-Pace http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4514690
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