a bunch of annoying hills

Rowdy lookin' assemblage, ain't they?

Good heavens, NINE riders came out for my 38-miler out of Blackwells MIls today. Laura OLPH described the route as "a bunch of annoying hills",and I don't dispute her facts (look at the elevation profile on the ride page), although I think the collective noun for "annoying hills" needs to be something other than "bunch". We came up with a few alternatives:

• An affliction of annoying hills;
• An infection of annoying hills; 
• A hassle of annoying hills (thanks to Bob N for that one).

I'm opening the comments to suggestions for the best collective noun for the purpose. The favorite will win a mention in a future post and my admiration, and nothing else.

But nine riders, on a day that didn't top 45°F. Ricky G, Peter G, Tom H, Jack H, Dave H, Laura OLPH, Ira N (a fast boy, new to me), Bob N, and Pete R. I'm honored that they figured my ride was the best option for their day.

(I need to assign a few more nicknames to The Usual Suspects; the simple recitation of names needs some more flavor.)

The new-to-me fellow, Ira N, gets special mention for two reasons: first, he had excellent socks (I collect bike socks, even if only in pictures):

And second, for the arresting aero brakes on his Trek bike. They're reminiscent of the fabled Campagnolo Deltas:

In that picture above, you can see an aero baffle that extends when the fork is turned. But I just think the brakes are gorgeous. On no other bike, perhaps, with the aero feature work the was it does on that Trek, but the brakes are beautiful, even with the road grit on 'em.

I don't think they're TRP T860's; do you?

Now, these folks can complain (I'm sure they will), but I avoided what I consider the most annoying hill by rerouting to avoid that climb up to Mount Rose. The elevation is the same, but the climb is spread over a much longer distance by going up Bayberry rather than Carter. And on Bayberry, you get to see... SHEEP!

Oh, my stars.

Near the golf course:

We stopped at the Boro Bean:

Bike pics:

Peter G had turned off to go home before the stop, and we dawdled too long at the Boro Bean for Ira and Dave, who left before the rest of us. Laura turned off to go home, and whe the rest of us turned up on Hollow Road, Ricky G went straight back on 518 (which is straighter and flatter than my route, but longer). So this was another ride of attrition... but I've already used that title at least once, and the collective for "annoying hills" was too good to miss.

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