that kind of a day

Shortly after I uploaded that last post, I came across this on today's Oddman:

Sheesh. That's not even on a road blocking traffic. They really do hate us.

(You can see the image better here.)

jealous god

Exodus 20:5 "... for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."

Girl barred from San Diego Christian school due to lesbian parents 

A kid in kindergarten. Is that what he meant?

Today was the Princeton Freewheeler fall picnic. And I could tell you about Jeff Harmon's B ride, out to Englishtown, but you could look it up on the ride page.

But there is this picture album. In an earlier era, it would have been the equivalent of two rolls of film!

cheryl m birthday ride

Cheryl M, the Florida Flatlander, was a Freewheeler before she moved south (and still runs some rides when she's there for the Freewheeler Snowbirds). She's been here in NJ for a few months making arrangements to sell her condo, and she's ridden frequently with the Old Guys during the duration. She's got a birthday about this time, and will be going south again soon, so she asked a couple of her friends to put together a 60-mile ride, and invited a few more friends along. I was lucky enough to be one of the invitees.

Eight of us met a Cheryl's condo. Joe M picked a route that he and I had done a couple of years ago, up to Sergeantsville. (I tried to get some en-route pics, but they're pretty bad.) Along the way, we picked up Peter, a quondam Hill Slug, who was out for a solo 45; he paced us for a while.

We went to Sergeantsville via a route that led us the other way on roads I often only use in one direction (since I don't lead and am so hopeless at navigation, I place myself at the mercy of other leaders; they often know where they're going, but they have preferences of routes).

We got to Sergeantsville, a bit less than halfway, to find that the store, while open, was undergoing renovations which meant that the toilet was unavailable. There is, however, an ice-cream-and-coffee place across the way which was accommodating.

I loved that old steel Schwinn (I think) in the pic above.

(We met those three guys on the right two or three times before we met them at the store. They looked and sounded like they were having a great time.)

After Sergeantsville, Tom H went his own way, and we continued Joe's route. I got some pics of the folks on Gulick:

And it was a great day.

We had a second stop at a Quik Chek near the golf course where we turn to go to Pennington.

And from there, the seven of us continued to Cheryl's nearly-empty condo, where we had a celebratory ice-cream cake.

Here's the link to the ride page. We maintained a mostly-easy pace...except when we didn't.

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In other news, Nevada has these nifty brakes on her bike; I think the brand is "Gravity". Does anybody know anything about 'em? I really like the looks of 'em.

couldn't have said it better myself

Couldn't have sad it better myself. Neither could Jennings.

(Isn't it a shame he looks so much like Gollum in that picture?)

I found it on today's Oddman.

mcbride 2015

Since he died in 2010, there's been a ride for Joe McBride every year. The first was a pick-up ride, but since 2011, every fall there's a ride that supports a scholarship in the Social work school at U Penn, where Joe taught.

I don't think I ever met Joe, but he was a friend to people I consider friends. I've made every one of the rides in his memory, and I intend to continue doing so. For the past couple of years, The Excellent Wife (TEW) has come along as well; I do the 50-mile ride, and she does one of the shorter routes.

Laura OLPH set up a team so that the Freewheelers would donate $100, but she didn't list the ride or intend to lead, as far as I can tell. Nonetheless, at the start, we had twenty or so people to ride with Laura's group on the 50-mile ride (Mary F would lead another group at a more sensible pace). Below are some of the folks at the start.

(Even though many of the pictures didn't come out, this is a much more sensible camera than the one I used yesterday. Only one of my road shots came out.)

We started out at a quick pace, and some of the group went off the front, leaving about nineteen. Although there was no hot sun (which was a blessing), there was a heavy wind (and why does it always seem to be a headwind, even when it's coming athwart your bike?), and we got spread out again.

(Along the way, an older gentleman in an orange Freewheeler jersey passed us; it was all I could do not to chase him. I'm only partially successful managing that competitive urge.)
 
Even on this fairly flat route, we got spread out, and we had maybe eleven or thirteen at the stop.

We mostly kept the group together after that, although we had a range of abilities even in this group. I got to ride a while with Mike, whom I haven't seen in a while (and who's fast!) and Raj, who did the Grand Fondo yesterday, as well as in the back with some of the stragglers. Pics below are some of us waiting for others to catch up (and still others had gone on ahead).

We had eleven when we got back. The others in the group we started with were getting lunch or had already left; other riders kept coming in. I met up with TEW, who was sitting with Dale and Sean, and Terry C. After a feed, there was the annual memorial for Joe, and the announcement of the scholarship. I'd forgotten the camera, and went back to get it for these pics.

Almost forgot... ride page!

hill slugs sep 19, 60 miles. lambertville-clinton

About midweek, I got an email from Laura OLPH with a suggestion about the weekend rides. Tomorrow (Sunday) is the Ride for McBride, which I've done every year, but Laura asked for Saturday, "Saturday's weather looks too good to waste. Who's up for a Lambertville to Clinton journey?" She suggested this route.

Well, I sure was. I was at the start 40 minutes early (now THERE's a surprise), and drove around a bit to waste time. After I parked, Tom drove in, as did Blake, The Other Laura (who has a home in near Lake Tahoe, and has thus been re-christened "Nevada"; pic is below), and Laura OLPH.

Tom and Blake above; below, Blake and Nevada.

See how grey and misty? It wasn't quite that bad, but almost; the rest of the photo misery is due to the use of an old, CF-card camera I decided to try today. It's awful. Tom has a waterproof camera he used in Hawaii, and I've cast the eye of lust upon it.

Laura's planned route went up 29 for a ways, but in view of the traffic, the poor road surface, and the worse visibility in the fog, we changed the beginning and added a few miles. We went up to the bridge at Sergeantsville, and then continued north.

Because we added the miles, we had over 30 by the time we got to the stop in Clinton, and we were talking about some of our fellows who would have been complaining about that. (Were your ears ringing?) We stopped at the usual coffee place. (Tom asked about a competitor, but Laura had been refused the use of the lavatory some time ago. The place may have changed hands twice since then, but a Hill Slug never forgets.)

Then back. Laura's route includes a hill that goes up about 7-800 feet in about two miles, shortly after leaving the stop. Well, MY legs were complaining, that's for sure! (The reward is that you get a vista like the one below, the faithful reproduction of which is simply beyond the ability of this raggedy camera.)

The other thing you get after a long uphill, often, is a long downhill. I'm not a great descender, and the following song parody has been percolating in my head for some time, to the tune of "Great Pretender":

Oh, yes, I'm a poor descender.
I ride the brakes all the way down.
I'll let you pass as I clench my gluteus maximus
I tremble as you go around.

I may have used a different ending word in line three.

Then back. We departed from the route partly to shorten it (in which endeavor I do not think we were successful; the ride page shows over 60 miles), and so that we wouldn't have to cover some of the same roads we did on the way out (which is not exactly against the Hill Slug code, but repeating roads is not a preferred practice).

And, of course, since we left from Lambertville, so close to O Wow Cow, The Excellent Wife (TEW) had sent me with a human-organ-capable cooler and instructions not to return home without a pint of I Hate Chocolate ice cream. Which is now safely ensconced in the freezer, so tranquillity reigns in the house.