back to cranbury

 

Although it's probably the most popular start place for Princeton Freewheeler club rides (both for number of rides that start there, and number of riders... it appears some riders won't start from anywhere else), I can't remember the last time I went on a ride that left from Cranbury Village Park. But I didn't have another offer today, and there are people who ride from there I'd like to see, and I should meet some of the new people in the club.

So I signed up late to do Dave H's ride. I knew from chattin' with him that when his ride gets big, Jackie F takes the fast group off the front. I had a bad experience on one of Jeff Harmon's rides a couple years ago; his B-rated ride took off at a pace that was well out of range, and I just couldn't keep up, so I opted out of the fast group. I didn't want to have to do that today.

Dave had a crowd to start.

Above, Rick W's B+ fast boys. Below, Rick.

I like that one, above, of Eddie H. (We had a discussion about gear, clothing, and shifters on the ride. We're on opposite sides on the topic of the benefits of friction shifting. If you're going to have a disagreement with somebody, that's a good one, because it sure doesn't mean much.)

We rolled out on this route.

At Roy's (which now has toilets available! Yay!):

While we were there, new-member Chris complained that his rear wheel didn't look right... and I should say it didn't; he had two broken spokes, and it was way out of true, to the point he had a fairly substantial brake rub. He had been keeping up with us anyway. When he gets his wheel fixed, he's gonna be a monster.

We got his brake open so the wheel would turn freely, but still, it was clear he was hanging back because he didn't trust it (and I can relate to that; every time I've had to change a tube on a ride, I've been convinced that the new tube would also puncture... even though it hasn't happened to me in almost twenty years, and only rarely to anyone else I've been on a ride with in the intervening decades). The fast folks took off the front, and we lost sight of 'em (one of the frequent complaints about rides that leave from Cranbury Village Park, and part of the reason some members won't ride from there). But we in the back of the ride got to the park in good order.

Thanks for the lead, Dave, and good to see all the folks. I need to show up in Cranbury more frequently.