I've been invited on a number of unofficial pickup rides with the Freewheelers, that don't get in the list,usually because they're scheduled only a few days in advance (to get in the lists, rides need to be planned three to ten weeks ahead, depending on who you talk to). An exception to this occasional-ride rule is Erich W's Ride-to-the-ride. Dennis W leads the old guys out of Byron Johnson park on Wednesdays. That's about ten miles from Etra Park, near where Erich and a number of Dennis's other regulars live, so Erich runs a ride to Dennis's Wednesday ride, most Wednesdays when the weather holds. Since there's also a ride back each time, Erich winds up leading far more than enough rides to earn a leader's jersey, but he says he doesn't give a hoot about such things, and his actions (or lack thereof) in this regard suggest he may be telling the truth.
Erich's rides start 50 minutes before Dennis's advertised time. That meant leaving Etra at 7:40 this morning, and that came early. I got the car packed (almost forgot my bag with the gloves, headbands, and sunscreen), and had to get gas on the way, but made it to join five others on Erich's ride; we had 20 on Dennis's.
We went down to the nifty bakery in Pemberton, one of my favorites of Dennis's stops, via this route. One of our number noticed a gash in his tire before he left (it held together), and, while there were some slow folks today, they weren't the same slow folks from two weeks ago; the rider who was slow then was crankin' today! One rider brought his daughter, and two other women came, including ride captain Sue M (and this is a crowd that could use some female energy!).
62 miles for me, at 14.6mph; not worth posting on Strava. That's OK; I was tellin' Erich that Strava is probably not the best fit for me. On the other hand, he relayed a to me couple of overheard compliments, so now my head's so swelled I'm having a hard time getting up to answer the phone.
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