pre-christmas ride

Any time you get a ride in this close to the end of December, it's a good ride, but this WAS a good ride. But I wouldn't have bet on it.

The signs that it might have been a disaster started with the ride announcement on Laura OLPH's page, which moved the ride from the announced day, Saturday, to Sunday:

Now, you might be thinking, "Curious.  Saturday's winds are looking awfully strong, and Laura's pushing the ride to Sunday.  Is she getting soft?"

Um, well, yeah, 'cause I've been eating junk, but the real reason is that, since the mid 90's, Jack and I get together with a few of my grad school buddies some time around Christmas.  They're free on Saturday, so that's that.

Then there was the email I got from Ed C, asking if I wanted to add "extra-extra" miles to Laura's already-provided-for extra miles, by driving to the ride start, then riding to Laura's house, then riding with Laura back to the ride start, then doing the ride with Laura & Co., then maybe reversing the process of the extra miles at the end. Laura heard about that, and didn't want to be left out of the "extra-extra" miles, so she promised to add some stuff at the end if we wanted. I decided I mostly wanted to stay put of what might have become an argument, since I'm so bad at getting and keeping friends.

"Extra-extra" miles. Hrmph. It may be that everybody I ride with is crazy.

In any case, Ed C and I got to Laura's early... as did Chris C, recovering from a motorcycle accident (and that's why I haven't seen him in what seems like six months). We rode to the start, and picked up Ron S, Cheryl M, and Mike M, and, after a brief discussion of the options, did this route, partly because the hills wouldn't be too bad. It was a new way up to Ringoes for me. I like the Ringoes rest stop (good coffee and indoor seating), although I should have eaten more than I did while there, I was a bit wobbly on the way back.

The way back also included three crossings of Route 31. I hate Route 31; I've come closer to dying crossing that road than any other, and I find the crossings without traffic lights on that road to be the scariest - some have poor visibility due to hills or curves, and the traffic is faster than I would expect. I've taken to singing the Bach-Gounod "Ave Maria" in an effort to make sure we get across safely, or, if I feel I've worn that out, the Pater Noster chant. You can say what you want; we haven't lost anybody yet.

At the end, Laura passed out some Christmas mint candies to us, and I took two; I needed the sugar! Then we took the "extra-extra" mile ride, by the Mercer "Pole Farm" Park, then back to the cars at Laura's.

No rides for me this week; The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I have plans to hole up and avoid civilization on Christmas Day, and, although I'm off on Wednesday, Old Guys leader Dennis W has called off the ride due to threatening weather. We'll see what the weekend before New Year's brings.