last of the month c+

 Some of my riding friends don't ride as fast as others (and some of my usually-faster friends don't mind an opportunity to coast once in a while), so on the last Sunday of the month, I usually offer a C+-paced ride, slower than my usual offerings. It started as an opportunity for me and The Excellent Wife (TEW) to ride together, and she has come out with us (she did last month), but temps today below 50°F made her decide to stay home. 

But Lynne W and Bill B (they're a couple, and frequently come out together), Dave H (on whose ride I went yesterday), Mini B, Bob N, and newcomer Carolyn G came out today (although if they'd waited five more minutes, Lynne W admitted she might have rethought her decision to come out in the cold).

We crossed over the canal, and I took 'em on one of my real-estate tours of Hillsborough, with a couple of those bike paths I like to do interspersed.

We stopped at the Bessie Grover park so I could attend to necessity. On the way there, Lynne told me about If These Stones Could Talk, a book about the African-American presence in the area, that mentioned who Bessie Grover was. The plaque in the park doesn't do her justice.

We came back east-ish on 518 into a headwind (when is there ever a headwind in that direction on 518? We must be in for some weird weather), and turned to go through the Skillman Park, which was the old Village for Epileptics. The special olympics had an event today, so we had to ride through on the path.

On the way, Bob pointed out we'd come close to the cemetery there, so we dropped in. It seemed like a good thing to do on a cold, grey, Halloween-y kind of day.

And on to Thomas Sweet. They still don't have the restroom open (but I keep asking). 

 

Dave had noticed that Carolyn's saddle seemed low, so, with her agreement, we raised it (and shifted it aft a smidge); she said it felt better after. (Like I'm ever gonna give up an opportunity to do some roadside mechanical work!)

And back. See the ride page; we bring it in at a comfortable pace.

But I'm not sure there's going to be a market for these rides in the colder weather. I'll see if anybody asks for C+ rides; if not, I'll plan to restart these after the thaw.