easy job, unexpectedly fast ride

 

My excuse for going on Christine R's (nominally) C ride today was that I'd agreed to do a bit of mechanical work on one of Herb C's bikes, and since he was planning to do this ride, that was a good occasion for us to meet so I could do it. But it didn't hurt that it was scheduled to be a less-demanding ride than I often do, since I'll be doing three rides in as many days, including leading one tomorrow.

The work for Herb was a stem replacement. Herb got a great deal on a bike that was just a little too big for him. He's dropped the seatpost, but the stem was far too long and too low. He finally decided to go with a shorter, higher stem. The one we found was aluminum rather than his preferred carbon fiber, and the handlebar clamp section was a larger specification than his bars... but with the proper shims, carbon paste, and a torque wrench set down to six newton-meters, we got it to work. Herb is just delighted with the way the bike fits now.

We did the job in the parking lot waiting for the ride start. The B+ fast boys got in and out, and the riders for Christine's ride started to show up, along with some of the other rides going out of Cranbury Village Park.

Eighteen to start. We took off at a fast clip. Soon, some were falling off the back; at about 12 miles, my average was 15.2, and I was not setting the pace. I had fallen back to see what was going on with the riders in the back. A few were having real trouble keeping up, and one decided to go back; Robert S agreed to accompany him.

We slowed down some after that... but the final average was still too high for the posted range.

We stopped at Woody's in Allentown, which is a better stop than I remembered; they had better choices for ride drinks and quick food, and treated us like folks (which is a real attractor to me!) 

On the way back, we kept meeting club members on other rides: first Bruce K... then about a half-dozen or so from Dennis W's ride... and, as we were coming back along Old Cranbury Road, Dom C's group from the B ride that had gone out 30 minutes after we did. Those were pleasant surprises (if a bit confusing when Dennis's ride turned at a location that Christine did not).

So maybe you'll come out on my ride tomorrow, and see just how decrepit I am after all this exertion?