about what I could handle today

Last week, Laura OLPH blasted out an email to the Hill Slugs; she'd thought of doing 100 miles today... but I've been a complete mess on or after any ride over 50 miles this year, so I certainly wasn't up for that, and emailed back my trepidations. She must not have been overwhelmed by the response from anyone else, either, so she rejiggered a route to about 80 miles from her house, or 62 from Mercer Park. She sent me an email saying if I could do 50, I could do 62...

...but that's a 25% increase over what I thought I had in me. I was reluctantly thinking of accepting, when I got an email from Tom H:

If you don't want to do the metric (and I'm pretty sure you don't) then you can ride with me. I plan to ride from my house at 8am to MCP then meet Laura there and ride with the group for about 20-25 miles before breaking off or home. I plan to do about 50 miles. 

Well, I was pretty sure I didn't either, so I got my butt outta bed (yeah, like that's a problem for me) and was at Tom's house in way-plenty of time to start. We headed over to Mercer Park at a pace that was better than I thought I had in me, and collected the troops - Tom, of course:

and Ricky:

Laura rode in with Jack H; she hadn't seen my car and didn't think I'd be there at all (my presence was apparently a pleasant surprise for her, and that was a pleasant surprise for me). We explained that Tom and I would be doing 25 or so with her ride, and then heading off so that Tom could get back with his wife, who's recovering less-quickly-than-expected from knee surgery, and so that I wouldn't have to call an Uber or an ambulance to get home.

After Laura appeared, Peter came out of the car. He's a long-time racer who could have ridden rings around any of us, but he was doing a recovery day. He seemed a little socially hesitant.

And off we went, heading towards Jackson. I hadn't seen Ricky since I stopped going to the New Brunswick Bike Exchange; we chatted a bit about that (and I've sent off a list of tools that I think they could use), and I caught up with Laura (and she with me; it's free therapy for me - we're might be in a contest these days to prove who is the crazier).

I got to talking with Peter about this group, and then about riding generally. He likes track racing, and road racing, and gets skills and strength from each that he uses on the other. I learned a lot, and made polite noises, and knew I was WAY out of my depth. We're never going to ride at the pace he can manage, but he was pleasant enough; I hope he comes back.

As we approached Cassville, Tom and I peeled off to head to the Antique Shop/Luncheonette where we were going to have the break. They mostly serve hot breakfasts and lunches, but they had cold drinks and a place to sit, and the most wonderful gimcrackery for sale:

Don't you love the huge fish with the USA flag design?

Can you see the "Love Me - Love My Dog" pillow in the pram?

Uhh... antiques?

And back. Tom had promised a "pastoral pace" on the way back, and it was more pastoral than we had kept with the group (my average was 16.6mph at the break), but it wasn't easy - I finished with tired legs, an average of 16.3, and immense gratitude that there weren't any more miles to do. But Tom is a good ride companion for me; we have similar irreverences, and tolerance for each other's foibles (although the casual observer might not notice that last thing).

I'm doing a 32-mile ride tomorrow from near home, and next week, Tom is thinking of a more demanding ride if his wife is able to walk on her own. I wish Tom's wife a speedy and complete recovery. I wish the same for myself.