pushin' spring

 

Yeah, it was warm enough to hang out outside on the break today.

Tom H called for a 42-mile ride today, and there weren't a lot of other club rides on offer. Fourteen of us came out, including some I've never met or rarely ridden with (although Jerry F pointed out that there were a lot of Laura OLPH's Hill Slugs on this ride - there IS a large area of overlap in the Venn Diagram of the Hills Slugs and Tom's Insane bike Posse).

Some of us had wintered better than others, so I swept (although I don't think Tom knew I was doing it). We split into a fast group and a slower group... and those of us in the back waited politely for the rest when we missed a turn off Kinney Road (that's that little appendix-y thing in the northeast on the route page). The rest of us thought of cutting 'em off, in memory of Don Sprague, but Tom's cooler head prevailed, and we waited.

We rolled around through Turkey Swamp park, again wit the fast folks in front (Tom had some thoughts about Spraguing them there, but there wasn't a road to turn off; perhaps the guys up front knew that), then to the Copper Ladle at the site of the old Roy's on Sweetman's Lane.

I'm sure the main reason we went was because Tom had tried unsuccessfully to stop there in the past (among other reasons, they're closed on Sundays), ad I'm just as sure we won't make it a regular stop; it wasn't all that. (If it's convenient and open, though, the fellow WAS welcoming enough...)

I was impressed with myself for getting so close to the bird until I noticed it was plastic.

By the way, that OTHER little appendix on the route near the stop is me missing the turn. There are some things you can count on...

On the way out, Tom led us across the gravel driveway.

It wasn't as good as his usual bridge out or closed road, but it will have to do.

And back. As we approached Etra, where we had started, Tom took a long way and about half of the riders opted for a direct route back; we ended with six or seven. I thought this was uniquely a Hill Slug phenomenon; I see now I was mistaken.

That's probably it for riding for a few weeks; I have other things to attend to next week. Hope to see youse soon. Come on out for a ride soon. The weather is warming up, and it's time to get back in shape.