unexpected 100k, some with team social security

I'm still a little touchy about hearing about Don Sprague's death, about which I was told when I got to the Byron Johnson Park to ride with The Old Guys yesterday.

The ride came about because I'd taken a day off to go to a training to get credits to renew my professional license, and, the afternoon before, I got a phone message at home that the classs had been cancelled. I handled the surprise with my usual lack of aplomb and flexibility, and The Excellent Wife (TEW) then informed me that I was to go on the ride with Team Social Security, in that voice that indicates that This Is Only A Suggestion, But There Will Be A Reckoning If You Do Not Take It.

The ride was to be about 35 miles, so I decided to go early to Etra and ride from there, adding about ten in each direction... but on the way, I came to that Imlaystown Rd that I THOUGHT went down to Roy's Deli, so I took it. That road doesn't go to Roy's; the Assunpink Lake is in the way. So I used my best navigation skills* and wound up at the Byron Johnson Park, minutes before the riders were leaving, with about 17 miles on the clock instead of ten.

(*I'm pretty much bereft of navigation skills, as I hope I've made clear in these posts. And it turns out the Garmin Touring can't both record data AND plot a route a the same time, although it can plot the route, and then record data.)

Now, the Yellow Maserati is crippled due to a series of problems, so the bike I was on was the 30-lb. Krakow Monster. While heavy, it has low gearing; still, I was already starting to be tired before the other riders departed.

Al P and Joe M both told me about Don's death.

After a few words about Don, and the safety speech, we left. This ride now is split into a "C" group and a faster "C+" group; I went with the latter. It was a hot day.

We headed to a blueberry farm near New Egypt; I think I've been there before with Laura OLPH. (On the way, Mickey asked me if I knew where we were going. I didn't, but after a bit of discussion, we agreed it wasn't about the destination; it was about getting out for the ride.)

After we got back to the park, I set the GPS for a route back to Etra, but I departed from the set route, and the GPS just gave it up and shut off. I restarted, but that's why I have this most of the ride page, and this rest of the ride page. Not bad, for extra-extra miles on a heavy bike on a hot day.