better idea

How did I wind up with 21 registrants for a C+ ride for today?

 

The Princeton Free Wheelers definitely needs more ride leaders. (Also, I need to remember to clean off my lens.)

One thing I did right, though: after thinking and talking far too much about my concerns about pace, I decided today to enlist some assistance, and I asked Heddy B and Eric H to lead the faster folks, and then Mike V agreed to sweep. So I had the fast folks go off the front, and I could worry about the folks in the back.

We did more or less the same route as last week (I didn't blog about that one; there was a mishap). My RideWithGPS shows 13.9 average, but others showed over 14.5. We had riders of wide ranges of abilities, but nobody had to ride alone (although two did leave the ride by the time the break ended). 

We stopped at that Blawenburg Bistro.

So far, my rides seem to be doing a reasonable job of ensuring the continued success of the Bistro.

So let's see if delegating out the fast-folks lead continues to work.

i'm sorry it's that complicated

 This came up in one of my feeds:

...The field that grew out of this posture argued that there was nothing simple or straightforward about the way we consume a text. It’s always a negotiation, always more complicated than anyone on the outside might assume.

The problem, then, is that some people don’t want things to be complicated. They don’t want to hear people talk about why they like things, because if they listen long enough, it will challenge neat understanding of things that are “good” and “bad” — especially when it comes to children, or teens, or women. Those groups of people aren’t often trusted to know themselves well enough to articulate why something matters. Or, when they do, we simply don’t believe them.

I'm resisting the urge here to be sarcastic about the need to listen to children, teens, and women, because, as a male white Anglo-Saxon (used to be) Protestant, people too often take me seriously when I sarcastically downplay the rights of anybody who's not white, Anglo-Saxon, and male. (I'm an out-of-the-closet atheist, so people generally know when I'm getting ironic about religious idiots [not all religious people are idiots]).

I have family members who want to get back to what they consider the good old days, when there were only two sexes, and when everybody knew their place. Well, I'm sorry the world is more complicated than you think it is. I'm sorry that what you thought was promised to you because of accidents of birth is not materializing. I'm sorry that people who once hid in the shadows, who once ate only your parents' castoffs, are now demanding rights.

The world has changed. Catch up, or be lost. If you try to hold on to the corpse of the dead past, you will be defiled.

I don't know the original citation of the quote; I got it here.

still i am learning

 From a motto on an artwork misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarrotti, ancora imparo, still I am learning. Regular readers may remember that I've been thinking (undoubtedly too much) about pace on the rides I lead. I had an opportunity today to chat about it with some people I trust.

Tom H invited a few of us on a ride today. I initially thought I wouldn't be able to go due to dealing with the property management issues ensuing from the decease of the Excellent Mother-In-Law, but I was relieved of that duty for the day, and got to ride along with Tom, Laura OLPH, Jack H, and Rickety. (Forgive me, but I lost all the pictures today.) 

It was wicked hot, so we planned an early (for us) departure at 8am, and a shorter ride of a bit over 40 miles, expecting to be back about 11 before the heat got too bad (we were later than that, but not hugely so).

And it was a hot ride. But more important to me was the fact that I got to talk about my rides, and pace, and my social needs, and what reasonable expectations are (of myself, and of other people). We talked about aging, and some of the ways in which we're all dealing with that. We talked about family (and other) relationships. It helps to do this while riding, as the activity seems to push some of the extraneous matter out of the way, and it helps to talk about this stuff with people whom I've known, and with whom I've ridden, for years.

So the ride page, which shows our route, speed, and such stuff, tells only the most basic story about the ride today. The most important part isn't in the route or the numbers. I guess you had to be there.

gotta think about pace

 

Last Wednesday, I did a Team Social Security ride, and couldn't keep up with the fast folks. Then, on my last two solo rides, I turned the GPS so I couldn't see time or speed, and came in slower than I thought.

When I posted today's ride, I didn't think I'd get miles in yesterday (although it turned out I did), so I posted one of my most demanding routes - about 1700' of elevation, which is not huge, but some of it is steep and nasty. Much of the group that came out are riders who are faster than I (most of the time).

Three of 'em planned to meet us along the way, and I told the starting group that. We were mostly together as we picked up Madhu A, the first rider-in. The group got ahead, and then I caught 'em on the hills.

Apparently, I'm a good hill-rider, and not a good flats rider. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.

And that's how we went for most of the ride: the group would get ahead until the hills, and then I'd catch up, or even pull ahead. But my average on the ride page shows I was faster than I want to bring this ride in usually, although this group was certainly up to the pace.

So I gotta think about pacing and my rides.

The picture at top was at Pretty Brook and Province Line. More:

We stopped at the Boro Bean.

After the stop, Luis and Laura OLPH (both of whom we had also picked up along the route) rolled off, and then another rider complained he wasn't up to completing, so he would shorten the route and find his own way. The group got ahead of me again a couple of times, partly because one other rider was also a straggler. But we all got back safely.

So here's the deal: I clearly can't keep up with the faster riders who come on my rides. But I'm also clearly capable of bringing in the ride at a pace at which I want to ride.

I need to think about this.

not to raise the attention of the trickster goddess

 Found it! A 30-mile (as near as makes no difference) route from home that is reasonably safe and interesting, that passes toilets, and that doesn't risk the attention of the trickster goddess of Amwell Road.

Trickster goddess? Yes. Forget what you learned in church, and forget that misbegotten Loki of the Marvel comic universe. Gods are powerful and arbitrary, and tricksters are the most arbitrary of all. On one occasion she will be sating you with willing partners followed by pizza and ice cream, and on the next she's gauging reactions when she replaces your digestive tract with a turkey vulture. (She has no particular interest in you; she's just as interested in the turkey vulture's comments.)

So today's was a good ride with no divine arbitrariness. Once again, I set the GPS so I couldn't see time or speed, and went at the pace that felt right. I was almost a mile-per-hour faster than yesterday (likely due to the early start; early AM is my time of day), but I was still passed a few times by the younger-and-faster, so I've got some humility to get right with. OTOH, I met a number of the Major Taylors coming the other way on Canal Road; I thought I recognized Ralph S-J's voice as he called out, and I thought I saw Vern H, and I'm SURE I saw and heard Albert B. So that was pleasant.

And I came up on The Excellent Wife (TEW) doing her ride for the day. We did a little bike-y flirtatiousness, and then I came home. Chores later.

I hope to see some of youse on tomorrow's ride out of Claremont. The hills aren't long or high, but they're nasty.

too good to pass up

 Friend Tony G, of the beautiful bikes (see also here and here), gifted my with an old-school Shimano 105 2x8 groupset. 

I had initially thought to donate it to the New Brunswick Bike Exchange, but it's too nice. The shifters appear to be in fine working order. That saddle is a Selle Italia with titanium rails. 

 

It needs some cleanup and TLC, but it's lovely. The tires need to be replaced, and I may not use the chain that came in the bag... but also included was a bottom bracket and a set of downtube cable stops.

I'm gonna wait until The Excellent Wife (TEW) sees this post... and then I might start looking for a frame to hang this stuff on. It's geared way too high for this old man (I'll never climb a hill on a 53x39, 11x23), but it might be just the thing for a slow, elegant, flat ride.

There is NO WAY I'm giving this up.

slower pace

 So I decided to do a 30-something-mile ride today, and a few miles in, I set my GPS so that I could only see my heading and my distance traveled - not my speed, not the current time, not anything else. I held a pace that was comfortable and not challenging.

It turns out I'm slower than I think I am. 34 miles at less than 15mph.

I might have to rethink what rides I do. Maybe I don't really want to push so hard all the time.

ernie lee b'day rides

 So the most important thing you have to know about today's Team Social Security rides, is that it's Ernie Lee's 80-somethingth birthday. Immediately after signing up, I got a text from number unknown (that later turned out to be Al P) saying that I should come half-an-hour early because there was gonna be a gathering before the ride for Ernie.

 Here he is getting surprised at the start (note the surreptitious tupperware full of goodies under Al P's arm in the foreground):

(I love that one of Lynne, above. It's not her most attractive picture, but that welcoming offer is Lynne right down to the bone.)

Ernie was apparently surprised and delighted, which is kind of the point, right?

A few more pics before the start:

Above, it's a shame Pat is so inhibited, right?

 It felt like the parking lot just emptied when Christine took the C riders out... but Al wound up leading 17 of us. He called for a left turn out of the lot; I immediately turned right, and didn't realize my mistake until I got to the cross street, and had to sprint to catch up to the tail of the group.

It's a good thing I'm good-lookin'...

The group separated a bit. I got to riding with Ron S. I stopped for a picture...

...and got to talking about the double-layer of tape he keeps on his bars for comfort (I kinda like the look)...

... and then we had to hustle a bit to catch up. 

We stopped in Columbus.

 I got a picture of Pat's most excellent socks:

(If you follow this link, you can see a number of my posts that mostly have to do with other stuff, but also have pictures of bike socks that I think are neat.)

On the way back, I got  going with the fast folks, and kept up with 'em for a few miles, until I graciously thanked 'em for letting me make believe I could hang with them, and fell back to put my lungs back in. Dave M subtly fell back and said he was relaxing a bit, because he didn't want to ruin the rest of his day, but I suspect he said that because he's much to cool to have to say that he was keeping an eye on me. I'm grateful for his attention.

Ride page.

One more of Ernie:

Ernie, you're not just an inspiration (although you are that), you're also an easy person to speak to and a good guy to know. I'm glad I do know you.