easy, flat pickup ride with tom h

Tom H and company have apparently had it with climbs for a while. He sent out an email to some of us about doing an easy, flat ride today. I replied in an email that I figured it would be a god ride for the heavy, steel Krakow Monster; when she saw that, Laura OLPH thought she'd bring Gonzo, her newly-reconfigured steel beater. Dave C has an old Bianchi, similar to one he rode decades ago, that he restored, and (not to be outdone) Joe M figured he'd bring his venerable Heron, which apparently is his around-town bike. (Others rode their usual bikes; this was not a steel-bike ride, although there are murmurings about such a thing.)

We gathered at Mercer Park East picnic area for 8:30.

Below, Dave and his Bianchi:

... and Joe's Heron. In the second picture, I like the moustache-y handlebar and the way he has the cockpit set up.

We wound up doing this ride. Some little hills (not many), not a real fast pace, but not as slow as I thought we would be either. We stopped at Roy's, my new favorite stop.

As we were on the way out, we saw Don S coming in; he was the vanguard of Ira's ride out of Cranbury. A little later, I saw Dennis W on his bike, taking it slow; he hasn't ridden much since a couple of episodes of vertigo on the bike (I think).

Then up and out, around through the Assumpink and back to Mercer.

When we got there. Laura decided I needed to get pictures of the reconstructed Gonzo and the new rear wheel, with the neat red hub, and the alternating red and blue spoke nipples (can you see 'em?).

It doesn't come out in the picture, but the frame has a neat colorful metal-flake effect under the black. Nice ride.