Popular Post Parsnip Totin Jack ★ Posted September 22, 2015 Popular Post Share #1 Posted September 22, 2015 Sunday's weather was perfect for a ride. Temps were chilly before sunrise but rose into the mid 70's by 10 am. A light breeze, too breezy some might say, out of the north., made riding in that direction a little tough but suck it up buttercup. If you're not having fun, sell your bike and be the curmudgeon you were meant to be. The ride seemed poorly organized from the start, poor signage and direction at first, but then again we arrived at 6 am to help with setup. Maybe that was my fault. The ride is organized by Potomac Pedalers, a very large bicycle club in the DC area. The ride began and ended at Shepherd University, Shepherdtown WV. A nice college in a nice town on the banks of the Potomac river. I signed up for the Century Ride and answered a late call for volunteers. My assignment was to hand out t-shirts and jerseys to them that bought them. I was to report at 5:45 and work til 9 when I was free to ride. There were four routes: 21, 54, 64 and 100 miles. The century riders started at 7, so starting at 9 would make for a late afternoon arrival, I chose to ride the metric distance instead. I was also riding with a friend, Sal, whom I used to work with and his son. Sal had not been riding much so he did the 21 mile route. Son of Sal rode the 64 with me. All three of us rode together until the routes split. There were about 2,000 riders, most had left ahead of us but there were still plenty on the road when we took off. The route went thru farmland and apple orchards framed by hills to the east and west. Acres of trees were loaded with ripe apples. There were the usual clusterfuc*s that you see on long rides. One rider passed on our left,, then said to the rider in front of us, "on your left" and then passed him on the right. A couple passed on my left going up a hill but on the descent soon after, rode their brakes the whole way down, blocking any attempt to pass them. fuckers. i also made a sensible decision and did not tell the lady in the Colorado cycling jersey that her shorts were stretched so thinly across her ass that they did not effectively provide adequate concealment. I left that up to the gentleman she was riding with; if he chose not to say anything that's none of my business. The first rest stop (mile 18) had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, bananas and the usual energy bars. The second pit stop (mile 34) had a live band, tomato and cucumber sandwiches with either hummus or mayo, your choice. There were also snack size bags of cashews, peanuts and almonds. Someone was smoking marijuana at that stop but I didn't see who it was. The third pit stop (mile 53), where my wife was working, had boiled, salted potatoes. Those were good. On the final leg,an ambulance sped opposite me followed by three squad cars from the county deputies. The last deputy, Barney Fife I think, had his siren and lights going and was driving too fast for whatever was going on. I was worried that someone was hit by a car but it turned out someone complained of chest pains. Never heard any more about it. I drafted a semi truck for a mile or so. He was following an elderly couple and the road was too narrow to pass. The couple finally pulled over and let him by. He was a good trucker. At the finish, the college let us use the showers in the gym and there were supposed to be towels but they was all gone by the time I got there. I used about eight feet of paper towels to dry off. An after-rode celebration was going on but we skipped that as cars weren't allowed on that property and my wife can't walk that far. We went into Sheherdtown and had coffee at the Lost Dog. A hipster joint if you've ever seen one. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant that 's in the space of the Yellow Brick Bank building. The food was good, I recommend the joint if you're ever in town. I had chicken enchiladas covered in a mole sauce. The final numbers: 67 miles, 4:25, 3,177 feet climbed. While the route was in Zealot's backyard I didn't spot him. He was probably schralpin' the gnarly rocks nearby. Some pics: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted September 22, 2015 Share #2 Posted September 22, 2015 Wow, 2,000 people! The few I've done have have a few hundred at the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyBob Posted September 22, 2015 Share #3 Posted September 22, 2015 Awesome. I rode to Shepherdstown once with Z. Beautiful area! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Come Lately Name Posted September 22, 2015 Share #4 Posted September 22, 2015 Well that sucks. (I had thought about doing this one. Guess I'm not going to). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted September 22, 2015 Share #5 Posted September 22, 2015 Most excellent report! Thank You 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted September 22, 2015 Share #6 Posted September 22, 2015 A very good ride report, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 22, 2015 Share #7 Posted September 22, 2015 A very good ride report, thanks. It was a little long. Can someone summarize it for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 22, 2015 Share #8 Posted September 22, 2015 An enjoyable read, well complemented by the pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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