Thursday Ride Report

What a glorious late afternoon/evening for a bike ride and they showed up in droves for the final unofficial Thursday COP New Albany ride, all two of us, Little Diesel and the Big Fatty.  36 degrees and cloudy but no wind.  It won't get much better than that for awhile.  One of my primary concerns during the off-season was, "Will the Little Diesel allow us to ride him like a one hump camel again this year?"  

Jeff's biggest concern was probably, "Is my favorite route still in good condition, any potholes I should know, any worn shoulder, etc..."  So, we headed out old #161.  After the warm-up, I dropped in behind him and stayed there all the way out 161.  A few times I edged out and yelled "Car up", "Car Back", "Head Wind Up" and the classic to scream when one is about to drop, "Neutral Zone".  I even tried out a new one, "Was that Elvis?" to try to slow the pace.  We made a left and then a quick right on Jersey Mill.  I had a 12x28 installed so this year I'm ready for this long down hill.

Finally, we reached Alexandria and headed north on Northridge, my legs trembled in anticipation.  Reaching Concord, we turned left and eventually reached Johnstown.    Wow, Caswell as gone from a 1 1/2 lane road to just a 1 lane road.  It did not survive the winter well.  Coming on to Duncan Plains we made a quick left onto Caswell and then a right on something and finally arrived back at the parking lot with 31 miles, 900' of climbing and a slowish 17.1mph pace (hey, it was one guy against all the elements).   

How bout that Saturday forecast.  20-30mph winds, cold, rain, I can't wait.Also, a largish group is departing at 9:00am on Saturday to ride the "Woodstock" ride.  Many of us will do 100 of course.  Weather forecast worsening but maybe any rain/snow will run through before we depart.  If not, given my extensive experience riding in inclement weather, I will be there to ride and give out pointers on what to and no to, wear.