to clinton with the slugs

Laura OLPH called for a late start for this ride - 9:30 am - and a starting point in Lambertville. I don't know if it was the late start or the distant start point that kept the total number down to six today (besides Laura and me, Jack, Dave C, Jeff X L, and newbie John), or if Laura is developing a (totally undeserved) reputation for demanding distances and climbs. I was looking forward to a long, tough one today, because The Excellent Wife (TEW) and I have a date tomorrow that precludes a group ride (your correspondent has an upcoming 58th birthday that is, apparently, deserving of some attention).

I need to rattle on about newbie John's bike, a vintage steel-frame Serotta in the red-and-yellow color scheme I've come to associate with that brand in frames of a certain age. Lugs; steel fork with the graceful curve at the bottom; covered-caliper brakes of a type I'd never seen; obviously well-used (a patina of beausage overall). I probably drooled for the first two miles.

One of the ways you know this was a true Slugs ride is that we took a route different from the one originally planned, and we started right away: instead of picking up Alexsauken Creek Road, we got to pushing things a bit and would up staying on 29 until we were above Stockton. We went past the Sergeantsville bridge, then up Upper Creek on the way to Clinton. Although it was cold when I left the house, I was soon glad that I had left the tights and one of my undershirts in the car; between the day and my exertion, I was warm enough.

In Clinton, Jeff X L and I got into a discussion about technique; I ride with my saddle higher than recommended. He told me what he saw, and mentioned another rider we both know who also transgresses this rule; he said that it might work for the miles we put in, but if we put in more, we would do better with a more conventional saddle position. He's probably right; he's had more experience with competitive riding and being coached than I... but I ride the distance I do, and don't ride competitively (and don't intend to). I'm injury-free after years of this position, and I have more power, and I'm more comfortable, than I was with my saddle lower. So I'll probably go on as I currently do.

Here's the route. The Garmin page shows only 2309 feet of climb, but I got an email from Dave C that he had 4676, and I'm sure that's more like it (Edit: RideWithGPS, and newbie John's riding app, both show about 3600). It was a great day, clear and cool; we could see forever. John suggested we make a calendar with the vistas we saw; I kept saying, "Well, there's May," "Well, that can be June"... but Laura complains that the pictures never come out; they're always flat.

Some of the route was a bit tough; there was a short stretch of dirt road in the first half... but what got may attention (and a bit of my profanity) was Pine Hill Road. I remember Pine Hill Road having two scary descents, the last just before the T-stop. What was a surprise to me (and, I think, to everybody else on this ride) was that there is a section in the middle where the pavement is gone; there is dirt and gravel. So the descent, which was scary anyway, was made that much worse by the road surface; when I caught up to the rest of the group (I'm not the best descender), I remember saying, "What. The. F(you can fill in the rest)."

Laura replied, "I want you to remember two words: Ironbridge Road", a reference to the Slugs reprise of the Castner Murders Ride last fall. We had gone down Ironbridge Road on a day when the surface was a bit wet. She was right; that was worse. At least this road surface was dry.

Then back to Lambertville, without incident. It was a great ride. You shoulda come along. If Laura posts her pics, I'll probably link; they will be worth the visit.