What a great ride it was!

Morning fog and cold.  Sick for two days, still that nagging cramp in my right calf.  Would anyone show at 7:00 AM this morning.  I sure hoped not, with the fog and wet roads I half expected to be the only brave soul . . . and without telling anyone my plan was to ride to the church and back home.

It was not to be!

Following me into the church parking lot was Ron.  No worries I thought, I can convince one guy to ride slow.  Then Joe shows . . . still I thought I had a chance . . . then out of the corner of my eye I see Russ . . . damn . . . there goes that plan.  With this many riders there is no way we will ride slow.

7:00 AM came and we were off.  It really wasn't as bad as I expected.

Within a couple of minutes I noticed Russ had dropped behind.  Nope, he saw Jim coming and went back for him.

As I look back, I see another lone rider coming after us.  As he nears, I realize it is Dan.  oh oh . . . now I know it will be game on.

Somehow we manage to ride the first 10 miles at a reasonable pace. As we climb that hill around the corner from Zimmerman to Lismore the pace accelerates.  Later I heard a couple of riders say that was the fastest they had ever ridden it.  No let up . . . Dan leads the way down Lismore leaving riders falling in his wake.

As we pass the McQaude road . . . another rider . . . Jack ... this now makes 7 crazy guys riding on a cold, foggy morning.  What's up with that, and just as perplezing, where is Farrow (I later learned he had a very important, justifiable prior commitment.  WELL DONE SOPHIE!!!)

Do to my advanced age (nah . . . let's blame it on being sick) . . . I realize I need a break and head back to pick up the dropped riders and bring them back to the group.

We regroup and ride together to Clover Valley.  Interestingly, a couple of riders ask about riding gravel!  

The ride to the Moose was reasonable, but gee . . . I really needed to stop.  After a couple small cups of coffee . . . about one thousand coughs . . . and just watching Dan eat that big home made roll . . . we are off.

We stay together for 6 miles.  On the hill Russ, Dan and I somehow accelerate past the others.  We ride together, rotating perfectly for 3 or 4 miles when I am dropped like a dirty shirt . . . my ticket punched . . .  by some old guy on a single speed and a young guy with animal stuff on his shorts . . .

Fortunately for me, Jim comes from behind and pulls me for a few miles . . . amazingly, I look up to see Dan alone . . . what has happened to Russ . . . it turns out he must have stopped, taken out the extra gear he had in his pocket and changed it, and simply rode away from all of us . . . that darn guy on the blue bike left all of us breathless . . . Either that or he was just plain the fastest.

Well Done Russ!

I struggled up the hill with Joe . . . went home and promptly fell asleep (after eating a very large pickle of course)

It was truly a great day . . .

Next time I must remember to bring my camera.