accretion and attrition ride, a personal statement with limited meaning, and some other news

When you have a picture like that, you pretty much have to lead off with it.

I got some complaints from my Usual Suspects who ride in to my ride starts that the Claremont School, where I've been starting, is just not convenient to ride to. But I'm reluctant to start at Blackwells Mills/Six Mile, where I used to start, because it's packed with people going on the multi-terrain trail. It's hard to find parking there.

I came up with a possible solution: I'd still start at Claremond School... but I knew I'd either be passing Blackwells Mills/Six Mile (if we were going in that direction) or the Griggstown Firehouse on Canal Road (in the other direction), and we could pick up riders-in at one of those spots.

It worked well. Bill B and Lynne W drove to Claremont School, as did Madhu A, and Bob N rode there.

Dave H and Laura OLPH rode to the Griggstown Firehouse... but got there early, and met us on the road  between there and the school. But it would have worked.

And then, taking it further than I intended, Eddie H met us in Kingston, even further along the route.

With the relaxation of the sign-in rules, there was not a bit of bump of interruption as we proceeded. I like this. This can work.

Because of the heat (and the fact that this was my third ride in as many days), the pace was a bit low, but I got no complaints about the pace from my riders. (Laura complained of back pain, and rolled off home when we got to Princeton, but that's a different issue.) We went down to Princeton, across the hills of Pretty Brook, up Bayberry and then Moores Mill/Mount Rose, and to the Boro Bean... where we met Judy M's ride.

Bike pics! (It's been a while since I posted any of these...)

The excellent Martin G got this pic of me...

...and I asked Dave H to get some of me in this jersey:

And there's a story in that, for this Independence Day, COVID-19, Black-Lives-Matter weekend (in a very small way). I bought the frame for the bike I rode today, the Krakow Monster, from Kim's in New Brunswick. At the time I was buying there frequently, and they gave me good discounts; I bought their jersey (shown above) to support 'em. A person, best described as one of the "basket of deplorables" that Hilary Clinton spoke about in 2016, asked me if I wanted to wear this jersey after all the sexual assaults (he used a different term) that were going on in New Brunswick. I asked what that had to do with my purchase, and he just repeated his remarks. I've had little to do with him since... and I've decided that if that kind of problem was going on (or is), all the more reason to spend money at that shop and in that neighborhood. I'm proud to wear this jersey.

</rant>

After the Bean, Dave H left for home, and then Eddie H did.

But there are two pieces of important news: the first is that the Boro Bean is open for take out, AND will let you use the toilet.

The second is this: Lynne W tells me that she and Bill B are getting married. Hooray!

And, except for linking to the ride page, I think that's where I want to end this post.