winter larry winter ride

The email from Ed C, at 6:53 am, said:

I'm thinking that the roads will be dry at 9 AM, since it is 34 F before sunrise. There are however a few bits of snow at our place. Any comments on the Winter Larry ride in Cranbury? 

Huh? I'd been up for an hour, but hadn't looked out the window yet; when I want to check the weather, I go to the computer (the NOAA report for my town is the home page on the Ultra-Geeky Linux Computer). Sure enough, it had snowed overnight - not much, but enough to make the road surfaces a concern.

I called Larry at about 7:04 am (Larry doesn't do computers on the weekend, and if you're gonna keep to that rule, and lead rides that leave from Cranbury at 9:00 am, you're gonna have to put up with some early calls). After a moment's deliberations, we decided to go. I emailed Ed (and Laura OLPH, whom Ed had copied on his original email) that the ride was a "go".

And so we went. Only the four of us today (like, who else is crazy obsessive persistent enough to go out in this?). We did this route, to the Dunkin' Donuts (is it in Hornerstown?). Cold on the way out; Ed had some foot warmers in his shoes (and I'm trying to persuade myself I don't need them). I had a flat in Hightstown, on Main Street, and, with the help of Larry and Ed, changed it more quickly than I could have myself. I used a CO₂ cartridge to inflate the tire, and Larry was surprised at how quickly and completely the tire was filled - we had a subsequent discussion on the ride about tire pressures, pinch flats, contact patches, and so on.

There was some snow on the roads; apparently more on the way back, later int he day, than on the way out. Some had been driven over, but had not turned to black ice; still, we went gingerly over those patches, which is probably part of the reason for the slow average (another is that one of our number was feelin' a bit slow today, which can happen to anybody).

At the rest stop, we got into a conversation about Laura's husband, Professor Jack. Larry suggested he might like a canoeing venture, and I laughed out loud; Laura texted Jack about the exchange. It's not that Jack couldn't paddle a canoe, it's that the idea of Jack agreeing to do such a thing, or enjoying it, is so incongruous. It makes me think of Oscar Wilde on a wilderness adventure (although, if such a thing had ever happened, I'd give a lot to hear the videos!).

The route on the linked page includes the four-miles-or-so from my usual post-bagels parking spot in Plainsboro to the Cranford ride start and back. I discovered a route that saves a bit of the traffic on Plainsboro Road without adding mileage (I cut through some of the condos), which had the added advantage of getting me out of the substantial (sometimes ferocious) headwinds I can depend on when I return to Plainsboro after a ride.

Riding a bike through the wet-and-mud-and-salt-melt on a day like today is a messy prospect, and I'm sure that gunk is not good for the bike; I took advantage of the warm temperature this afternoon to give the Yellow Maserati a good cleaning, and I've added a fresh tube and CO₂ cartridge to the bag. Now to prepare for the work week. Wednesday is one of those I have off, and the weather report looks passable - do you suppose the Old Guys will go out that day? Life is just better when I've been riding a lot!