First group ride 2010

Okay, the excitement of the first group ride was killing me last night so I used my wife’s birthday as an excuse to drink several glasses of wine (and a couple of beers) to help ease the excitement/ anxiety I was feeling. Unfortunately it seemed to help too much, I fell asleep at 9:30 while the rest of the family celebrated until god knows when.
This wasn’t a good thing, I woke up at 5:30 feeling like crap.
A tough decision needed to be made.
Get out of bed and start moving?
Stay in bed until noon?
Lying in bed I began cutting deals with myself.
If I don’t ride this morning it’s salads, chicken breast, egg whites and water for the rest of the week.
If I did the ride, when we were done I got have 2 of those Dunkin Donuts Waffle sandwiches, complete with the packaged maple syrup that oozes all over my hands and steering wheel as I try my best to eat and lick the syrup off my fingers and steering wheel without veering off into oncoming traffic –
Mission accomplish, the thought of the Wafflewiches got my motor running. I had my gear and bike packed in 15 minutes.

20 minutes later I’m at Melolas.
Where the heck is everyone?
Oh, it’s only 8:15, I guess I really was excited about this ride.
Slowly but surely people started arriving, the only problem was most of them were from the Tuesday night A ride.
Tom Orsini (what’s up with that 24” of exposed seat post, it hurt me just looking at the 24” drop from seat to bar), Thomas Connor on his single speed, that guy on the Blue Six13 who consistantly ripped my legs off last year, Dan Ouellete, Tom Stevens and his teammate (her name escapes me) on the White Stevens bike – all of whom consistently ripped my legs off last year. – Dawn on the Blue Trek who also ripped my legs off last season.
And then there was more reason to be afraid – new riders. Amy and her husband from Harvard, the new guy from the shop who rides the White Giant (nice choice of bike).
And of course Natalie and Daren were there to add to the fun…..
At least Luciano wasn't there! If he was the Wafflewiches whould've been out of the question.

The ride:
43 or some odd miles
Average MPH was somewhere around 16-18mph (unimportant)
Total time: about 3 hours
It was cold to start, but warmed up nicely.

The ride started towards Lancaster, roads I have no idea of the name of, but it was a leisurely pace with Tom and the Blue Six13 pulling us along for the first 30 minutes. We eventually ended up going down George Hill towards 70 where we’d cross over at the College and end up at the gas station at the 10 corners in Bolton.

As we began rolling out I quickly remembered something I tend to forget each year. Group riding is not the same as riding a bike.... or sex for that matter.
Once you (think) you have it perfected, you never forget – but it does take time to get into the feel of a group ride. I probably over think things (maybe it’s from being yelled at too many times by Chet, Daren and a couple others), but I was more than a little nervous, skittish/ squirrely trying my best to maintain a steady pace without running into the rider in front of me, or slowing too quickly that I cause a pile up behind me.

Anyways, for the first 20 or so miles I managed to hold my own without causing any damage, bodily or otherwise to other riders or their bikes. Hang back and enjoy the ride.

Once we got into Bolton the question was whether we’d take a left (towards Fruit Lands), or stay straight out to the flatter route that takes us through Bolton into Harvard.
Fortunately Tom stayed straight and took us to the flatter parts of the route.
We crossed 117 past Nashoba HS towards Harvard. We maintained a steady tempo through Havard towards Littleton.
This is where we hit our first hill of the ride, maybe on Old Littleton Road.
And it wasn’t even a real hill! it was more like a speed bump.
But this morning it felt much harder than Fruit Lands, Rt70 up to the Clinton Dam, Rt. 31 into Princeton Center, Mile Hill Road up to Mt. Wachusett, L’Alp Duez, or Mont Voutoux…..
The Winter interval training obviously didn’t make me as fit as I thought.
I soon learned I need to start training with Daren.
As we were going up the small hill Daren spun it to 120 rpm (I was counting), if he was wearing his cordaroy bibs I'm sure the friction would've started a small fire, he reminded me of Lance spinning up the Tourmoulet, he wasn't even breathing hard as reached the summit.
Lesson learned, ride a smaller gear, "spin to win".
I remarked to him how he seemed in mid-season form, but he dismissed it telling me his mid season form sucked…… Later on I learned he was being self depreciating.

Into Littleton we came out at the the train tracks where we took a right onto Harwood and then along more roads I don’t know which eventually took us into Boxboro.

Okay, somewhere (not sure if it was before or after the tracks) we had our first of the season accident.
We were all waiting up, I don’t remember why, maybe we were waiting up for someone to catch on, or taking a lunch break, who knows. Anyway some of us were noodling around in the road when rider A went to take a left across the road while the other FEMALE rider who usually rides a blue Trek didn’t anticipate the move and road straight into him, catching his elbow square under the eye (it truely was no one's fault, just one of those things that happen from time to time).
Damn!
Blue Trek is a teacher at a prestigious local college.
What are her students going to think when she shows up to class on Monday morning and her cherubs see with a shiner?
It could cause a scandal!
Fortunately the Spin Arts woman on the white Stevens bike was quick with a solution to explain the shiner and gain the student’s cred.
"Start with fuckin' a" -
Barroom fight! Boulder Café, one of her students were being harassed by local gang members and she had no choice but to step in and take matters into her own hands (fist). She sent the gang members out by ambulance, but unfortunately was grazed by a freak left hook meant for someone else.
Well done Dawn!!!!!!!
Fortunately there was no serious damage done by the mishap on the road.

PAY ATTENTION, THIS IS THE BEST PART OF THE ENTIRE RIDE (for me anyway):
Somewhere over the next couple of mile I was eavesdropping on a conversation going on behind me.
*warning – explicit language to follow.
Riding along it was then I had one of those “What the FUCK moments”.
Surely I didn’t hear what I thought I heard.
But even with all the wine from the night before there was no mistaking it.
It was Natalie with her freshly laundered helmet conversing with another rider beside her.
About a wedding.
Interesting.
I wondered if it was a friend, relative, someone from work, or someone from the shop who was getting married.
“Yeah, Daren and I are getting married in July” I heard her say.
OK, I don’t care if I caused a 10 bike pile up, I hit the brakes so they could ride up beside me.
“Daren?!!!!!” I asked
“Yeah, September” she said.

Of all the hundreds of miles we’d ridden together over the years, that was without doubt the best moment of them all.
Congratulations you two!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even though I cant imagine Daren in a tux, I’m sure we’d all agree Natalie will make a beautiful bride.
Well done!


We continued making our way towards Bolton.
At one point Thomas broke away practicing his time trialing on his single speed. I thought it would be fun to try and bridge the gap and work together.
Which worked well for a while.
Until I realized time trialing doesn’t include help from others.
Damn!
Sorry dude!

From there we regrouped at the 10 corners and made our way through Bolton, back to Lancaster, 62 back towards our original starting point.

As we took the right onto the 62 “cutoff" I watched a couple riders began opening a gap.
Nothing serious, they really weren’t going fast so I decided to bridge up.
Mistake!
4 of us.
Tom Orsini, guy on White Six13, Daren, and myself (there might’ve been a 5th in the group but I can’t remember) – things started picking up, quickly! Into a strong headwind!
Rotating pace line I had to hold Daren’s wheel.
I started counting,
1 – 2 - Daren, damn!
1, 2, Daren, damn!
1, 2, Daren, damn!
1, 2, Daren, “I’m off the f'en back!!!!!” I yelled.
It was fun while it lasted.
I never realized how long that stretch of road was until trying to hold onto someone's wheel.

So my contention is Daren is a liar – he’s not in mid season form. He’s ready to race this year…..

We finished the ride at Meola’s.
The bakery there is the best, everyone should indulge in a couple pastries after the ride.
Unless you need to get into a wedding dress in July (sorry Nat!)

Anyways, it was a great ride, thanks to all for a memorable morning.

Sadly though I need to relinquish my duties as your weekly ride reporter. At least for a few weeks/ months.
I will be going in for surgery on the 16th and will probably be off the bike for 4-6 weeks. If all goes well I’m hoping to be back on the Tuesday night rides by June.
I don’t know what I’m going to miss more. The rides, or embellishing everything that happens along the way in the ride reports.

The Nun on the ride up to the Fruit Lands, and Dave Lystra’s remark about how she was kind of hot looking in a strange sort of way.
Chet yelling at me on my first Tuesday nighter, I had no clue what I was doing, but I think I learned quickly after that.
Natalie’s stinky helmet (it really didn’t smell, but it made for a funny story nonetheless).
Daren, I really wasn’t checking your ass out when I was admiring your SMP Evolution saddle last year.
Charlie - the shower I got riding behind you was always better than trying to take a 15 minute pull.
Big Dave – I’d gladly draft off you all day (or night).
But mostly just all the memories of the great people I’ve had the pleasure of riding the Tuesday night rides over the past several years, it’s been a blast and will continue to be so later this year.

In the meantime I’m deferring the ride reports back to where it all began.
Have fun Charlie!

See you on the bike soon!