 Farmer Mike on the right, Flyin Tuna on the left making a rare Thursday appearance. Mike was cruising to another category win at the Mohican 100 when his seat post broke. I would have so much to say if that happened to Flyin's bike but with Mike, well, it's just bad luck.  Last week it was cloudy and cool, this week they were headed for the shade. Looks like it is Kyle, Philippe, Doug and Glen there now but the group grew as each minute ticked by.  Kristie was busy today making..hmm....looks like around 48 Oreo cookies. Let's see, there were approximately 70 cyclists minus 48 cookies means some will go hungry after the ride. Therefore, showing extraordinary leadership qualities, I decided I would be one of the 22 who went hungry. Besides, although I ate nothing today that looked so good, I did eat plenty today that was the calorie equivalent of an Oreo.  Could this be a group of women out to try to catch Steve O? Alas, Steve did not make a repeat appearance after last week's ride.  Mick under the red helmet was tonight's B+ ride leader. Andrew Clayton was the B ride leader. As I departed after the ride out 161, I saw Andrew riding with only 2 others so must wonder if he adhered to B ride leader rules that seek to keep the group together or simply pounded the poor souls leaving them gasping and broken?  Mike Rea on the right. With about 5 minutes until 6:00pm, I yelled for everyone to come over so I could pass along instructions given to me by the absentee ride leader, Rick. Don't ride left of center and watch for the broken pavement on Wadkins. With that, Ken Buddell led out the A group and I followed but was alarmed by who did not come out. Glancing at.....  ...our group of 18 as we waited and waited to exit the parking lot, I was absolutely convinced mine would be the first body blown out the back of the peloton. Jon Morgan on the left, Pete Ashmore on the right. Others in the group included Patrick W, Marty, Chris G, Philippe, Doug M, Jeremy, Joe I, Michael L, etc...  We finally got away, made the turn on to 161 and were off. With a headwind headed east, it appeared the guys in front were working hard as I basked in the draft at the rear. One guy rotated off and after pulling alongside me confirmed, yes it was taking some effort up there. We reached the 310 intersection with a 22.1 avg so somewhat muted compared to past rides. We zoomed down toward the Wadkins turn and I kind of coasted toward the front of the pack anticipating the charge up the hill but I hung in there and then after crossing Morse, the broken pavement kind of kept the speed down so I hung on a little longer. A left on Hollow and then a right on York brought us to 16, followed by a brief pause before gunning down to Blacks where we made a left. Something didn't feel right...what could it be....oh, I was still in the pack as we reached 37 and then crossed it. I began to think the impossible, could I last the entire route with the front group? Short answer: NO. Upon hitting Canyon, I was well placed, at the back of course and when we reached the start of the climb, I clung on for about 6" before sitting up and enjoying watching the entire group ride away. A scene with which I am some what familiar but still, after 22 miles and a 22+ avg, nothing to be ashamed of...neither to be proud of though too. But wait, the group would have to cross 37 again and they could get stuck there for a verrrrry long time so I rode hard and upon reaching 37, oh well. Then I began thinking, but wait, the crossing at 16 could delay the group but upon reaching that, oh well. Up ahead, I could see a single followed by a foursome but I was unable to catch and thus soloed in with 47 miles (ok, I skipped a turn or two) and a 20.7 avg. Meanwhile, and the reason you have rapidly scanned the above to get to this, the group shrank but those that finished first did so with 52 miles and a 22 avg.  The Thursday evening New Albany route with more details here: http://www.thecyclingclub.org/club-rides/thursday-evening-ride/ Also noteworthy is this tip from Rick (oh if only it were that easy, to just remember to keep the pace rather than legs and lungs failing to do so): TONIGHTS RIDING TIP On climbs remember to keep the pace of the guy/gal in front of you. If everyone does this no one can be in the middle or in the other lane where on-coming traffic has to decide on killing the group or potentially himself by veering off the road. Please be safe and make good decisions! AND REMEMBER, Print Your Own Map!!!!
2 Comments
Andrew C
6/5/2015 12:31:55 am
Lol, Mark, it sure looks that way, but no, that's not the way it happened. The Normal B group rolled out after the super-sized Super B group. Our group did a great job of keeping the pace under control and trying not to burn people off. We were very happy to have Super Girl Cindy B with us, who makes rare appearances to the NA ride. Once we turned onto Watkins we did some regrouping due to the hills, but still kept the pace under control. It was there that we passed Dirty Dan, who looked like he was checking out his rear wheel. He might have gotten a flat. Then we passed a young rider (Garret K.) who was also changing a flat. Turns out this was his first time on the NA ride, as he caught up to our group. We kept rolling along until we reached Gale, where Super Girl Cindy had already decided to shorten the course and took a couple of riders with her. She went left and we went right, continuing on down Blacks, enjoying the downhill and less headwind. Somewhere after there we ran into Crazy George, who told us he lasted 30 seconds with the As, then managed 5 minutes with the Super Bs, and was riding mostly solo. He thought he was getting more out of shape as the season progressed and we soon lost him with some climbing. But wait, who was that up ahead, climbing up the hills? It was the Rossi tandem, still riding strong after getting burned off the Super B group. They joined in with us and we continued on. At the Morse road stop sign on Outville, a couple of riders decided to turn left and cut off, and that left us with 10 riders and 9 bikes. Back to our descent, we got back up to speed and then it happened. A mass of potholes and POP! Garret K. got his 2nd flat on another pothole. So, doing my ride leader duties, I pulled over, as did another young rider Mitchell S., who also turned out to be doing his first NA ride. Mitchell gave him a tube, I gave him a CO2 cartridge that I carry for other riders, and we got him going again. Meanwhile the other 7 riders and 6 bikes continued on the route, with the Rossi's helping to keep the folks on the route. At this point, I looked at the Garmin and it said 19 miles to go and we would arrive at 9:10 pm. Even though I had lights, I decided that it would be better if we didn't have to ride in the dark. So, I made an executive decision and we turned left on Moots run, then right on 37 into Alexandria, getting back on the course. Rechecking, we then had 12 miles to go and would arrive around 8:50 something. Much better. We didn't push too hard up Jersey Mill. Mitchell said he had done 72 hard miles the day before and I asked him if he was feeling it on the uphill on Jersey Mill. He said he was feeling it everywhere, lol. We ran into a couple of other riders just before Burnside who were kind of waiting for a 3rd person, but we had not passed anyone. We waited for a couple of minutes and then the 3 of us took off again. Once on old 161, we pounded it in at over 23 mph, presenting the illusion that we had dropped the Normal B group, leaving them gasping and broken. They rolled in later to the parking lot, all happy with the beautiful warm evening. So, yes Mark, sometimes COP ride leaders work behind the scenes to help keep the riders safe and sound. Just as you did Tuesday evening on COP's CW Tuesday night ride. Thanks so much for that, as I'm sure Scott Y. appreciated that!
Mark
6/5/2015 02:05:49 am
Thank you for the update and good read. Dirty Dan hit a deep hole and not only flatted his rear wheel but did damage to the bike and had to be wife rescued. Leave a Reply. |