low b, i mean c+, brownie, i mean chocolate chip cookie ride

 The title of the post is what Eric H called it on RideWithGPS:

(I couldn't lead with that because the sites I link this use the first pic as a thumbnail for the post, and that one never would have come out.)

I thought that this route would be shorter than the routes I usually do in this direction, if I cut out the run up Bayberry (and it probably was), but it includes a long, demanding hill on Carter. Still, despite that hill, and despite my warnings about it in the description of the ride, and despite cold, raw temperatures... still, eight fellow club members decided to join me.

We had riders (as I often get) with a range of abilities, and I thought I'd let the faster folks go off (as I do) and ride with the slower folks (as I do). But as the ride went on, it turned out that everybody was the faster folks, and I was mostly leading from the rear and watching the average pace creep up. 

On Kingston-Rocky Hill Road, one of the others asked me about what I'd done to lose weight. I told him about how heavy I'd been fifteen years ago, how I'd lost the weight over the course of about two years, then gained a substantial amount of it back, then what I'd done to lose it again, and my current struggles and procedures with keeping it off. But I'm not an expert with that, or with training, or fitness (although I claim a certain proficiency with a wrench [see my Ramblin' Wrench site], and another rider mentioned a plan to bespeak my services again).

(I can never remember where we are; I had to go look at the ride page to get the road name.)

We took a scheduled break at Boro Bean. The proprietor-fella said that he'd had the busiest day today that he'd ever had, although there were still a few things on offer (I got a contact from a fellow Free Wheeler saying that she'd had breakfast there with a houseguest, but had been sure to leave some muffins behind). One of our number got the last of the brownies, leaving another pining for its loss... and then he noticed that the signs were reversed: the (empty) brownie array was listed for chocolate-chip cookies, and the supply of chocolate-chip cookies was labeled as brownies. We had a certain amount of banter (and eye-rolling on the part of Very Truly Yours, Plain Jim), leading ultimately to the second obscure reference in Eric's title for this ride.

And back. If anything, the rest of the riders were energized after the break, and I mostly let 'em go on ahead (I started the group on 518 to the east, and when they all started to pass me after a bit, I confess a certain amount of relief). By the end, I thanked a couple of 'em for letting me make believe I could keep up with 'em. Albert laughed and said he thought I was pretty fast.

Hrmph. I'm not fast. They're polite. See the ride page. I'm sure all of their averages were faster than mine. I need some more sensible people to come on this ride to keep me company.

almost missed it

Tom H posted the listing for this ride on Tuesday, and sent an email around to his regulars in the Insane Bike Posse, but I put it off... and by the time I got my act together to sign up on Thursday evening, the ten allotted spots were full. I sent an email to Tom asking if I could register, and the next morning there was a reply offering his permission, so I went into the listing and did the web magic that would allow me to register for the ride. So there we were, with eleven registered for his limited-to-ten ride. Thanks, Tom, for your indulgence; I feel lucky and in your debt.

Getting ready at Etra Park:

Below: That's not the worst picture ever of Bob L (that's later in the post) but it's pretty bad.

 Tom had a route that rider Bob W recognized as one that Dennis W used to run with the Team Social Security riders that used to go out of Etra on Mondays and Fridays (and if it wasn't exactly that route, it was close; I recognized a number of the roads [and I'm lost all the time]). You can see the route on the ride page.

The first bit was easy going: it was flattish (except for a dip on Hoffman Station Road), and, despite our different preferred paces, we mostly stayed together. I rode mostly in the back, chatting with riders and listening to others spout off facts and opinions, except for occasionally taking a turn in the wind... which was beginning to pick up as we turned south and west.

We stopped at a Wawa on 33 near Manalapan, where I got an even worse picture of Bob L...

(I swear he's better-looking than that), as well as other pictures of other riders that were even worse, and weren't worth posting. (Bob is likely to say that the one just above also wasn't worth posting.)

We got started again, and the wind had found its style by this time. Tom mentioned that all of the climb on this ride was after the break, but the climb alone was not the issue; the climb plus the headwind made the ride back memorable. Twice, a rider who is registered for a ride I'm planning to lead tomorrow reminded me to call off the headwind for my ride, and I guiltily remembered that I hadn't ticked that box when I'd put in the weather order. Oh, well...

The group got separated a few times on the way back. I got ahead with the fast group at one point, and looked around for Tom and didn't see him, so waited for the main group to catch up; for the rest of the ride, I made sure to keep an eye on Tom (less out of any concern for him, and more because I've noticed that if you stick with the ride leader, your chances of making it back to the start location are above the 90th percentile. The strategy worked again).

So, unlike most Tom rides, no closed roads or bridges to cross on this one. I guess the headwind will have to do.

new cycling jersey

 

It's a shame I look like a dentist in scrubs in that picture, because that jersey pattern came out well, and is probably one or two iterations away from what I really want.

Yeah, I'm working on making my own jerseys. I'm not paying for the good ones, and I don't like the fit of the cheap ones, and I don't like the zippers. I'm never gonna pull down that zipper; keeping my scrawny, grey-haired chest covered is a spiritual work of mercy and a service to the community.

The fit is good; the pockets are deep in back without being so high at the waist that it's hard to reach into 'em. The fabric is sweat-wicking, and a good weight: not heavy, not too flimsy.

Regular readers know that I started sewing during the pandemic. When you start sewing, you wind up making an awful lot of stuff that turns out to be only good for rags. This is probably my tenth jersey, and I only have one other that I'd actually wear. I made two for fellow club members, but those had zippers in, and for the zippers and for other reasons, I'm not really happy with those.

There are a couple of more details I need to work on. But expect to see that seafoam jersey when then weather warms. (I might try a long-sleeve version next...)

On Facebook, I saw ads for this Ocean & San; one of their slogans is "Looks like a shirt; rides like a jersey" (they use a comma instead of the semicolon, but don't worry; I corrected 'em).  That's kind of the vibe I think I'm going for. It's recently come home to me that almost nobody I ride with or hang around with has the same ideas about bikes, cycling, or accessories as I do. Oh, well.

bbc on why i'm always lost

 See article on why people can't tell right from left.

Apparently, it's as common as one in six.

so many riders on a cold day

 

Laura OLPH displays her gaily-decorated left leg while standing on her staid black right one (another product from Running Funky), as Ralph tries to hide behind Dr Z.

I didn't list this ride until late Thursday, because the earlier weather prediction was for rain to start just as we were struggling up that annoying hill on East Mountain Avenue, at the furthest point of the ride. But by the time I listed my now-usual Sunday C+ club ride, the local rain god had decided to move the rain commencement to later today.

I didn't get many takers at first, but as yesterday evening, and then this morning rolled around, registrations started coming in until at one point I had thirteen! But one rider discovered he'd left shoes home (the soft-soled slippers in which he'd driven to the start were NOT gonna work), so we wound up with twelve. Twelve! On such a raw, cold, sunless day!

Friend Eric H suggested a ride over a sightly longer route, at a faster B pace (thinking that we might even meet at the stop, given the comparative distances and paces), but didn't get takers, so he joined us. (Some could definitely have done the B pace; I was surprised that they all chose this ride at this pace.) Rama K even took me up on my offer to have riders meet us along the route.

I really liked this ride. I'd shortened the route because the week before, we'd run into traffic at the end, and it was suggested that was because of the late (10am) start and the slower pace (I managed that for myself by stretching my two-mile ride-in to seven miles). There was less traffic, and none of the riders complained about the abbreviated distance (see the results on the ride page).

Riders were better than I'd expected about keeping to the pace (we mostly stayed together; we broke into faster and slower groups on some occasions, but people I expected to be fast were largely staying with the group, and riders I expected to be slower were often in the middle of the peloton).

We stopped at Thomas Sweet in Montgomery, and took over the inside.

We got riding again before we got too comfortable (it was tough getting started again!), and did the ten-miles-or-so back to the start. The folks who'd ridden in (Rama, Dr A, Eric) rolled off home as it was convenient. 

I know that, as the weather improves and more rides are listed, many of these folks will go sign up for other rides. Others; who have been hibernating, will come out as the weather becomes more suited to their habits and riding clothes. Today I was happy to lead, not just so many riders, but this particular group.

it felt colder as the day went on

 

Laura OLPH posted a club ride for today, starting from Skillman Park, the grounds of the old Epileptic Village. This start location is closer to my house than most of the other club starts (so it assuages my climate-change guilt about driving to a ride start, even though I do so in my Prius). 

We looked at the combination of clouds and blue sky, and hoped for warming as the day went on. Laura took care of our chill quickly, though, by leading us right off the bat on a demanding, multi-mile climb up Fairview, Pin Oak, and Long Hill Road, and by the time we'd done that, we weren't complaining of cold (most of us didn't have breath enough to do much complaining at all...)

 We couldn't tell if there had been any progress on the bridge to Zion-Wertsville. It doesn't show well in the picture, but there's rebar visible at the close end of the bridge that hasn't rusted, and the support lumber for the arch is fresh... but us that second arch new construction? I don't know if that was there before (and I'm not gonna look for my earlier photo now).

Anyway, the rest of the ride had a much more sensible elevation profile, as you can see from the ride page.

We stopped at a Wawa near Three Bridges.

I also noticed this place across from the Wawa, and wondered if that might make a stop:

...but a quick web search suggests they're more boutique-grocery than rest stop.

Before we rode out, the skies were more grey and cloudy, with no perceptible blue (Rickety thought he saw blue off to the right at the horizon, but I think it was hope adding some azure to his vision). I'm pretty sure it was colder (and perceptibly damper) on the second part of the ride (although perhaps it was just the lack of that demanding uphill in the first part).

Laura pointed out these noticeable tights, and thought pictures might be in order. She usually avoids pictures, so I was happy to oblige:

Rider Bob L thought squares on the right leg and circles on the left, but I'm holding out for bubbles on the left leg and checkerboard on the right. They're available from Running Funky. I see they have a whole selection of half-and-half, each-leg-is-a-different-pattern tights, and you can also bespeak your own combinations. I'm sure I'm far too square to ever be allowed to buy such things, but you may want to take a look, if standard black tights are too staid for you.