Today is a recovery day from yesterday's bike trip to Galena. It was a high quality day. 85 miles. No negatives with our group. No mechanical problems, nothing in the way of injuries, and the weather/roads cooperated. Pretty much a modest tail wind the entire trip. Arrived as scheduled. Post-race at the DeSoto House in Galena was a hoot. Safe trip home with 2 at the helm of my pal Cal's SUV.
The crowning moments after the ride came when riding friend Tom from a past TOMRV showed up to share some stories. Five years back, on a similar Saturday afternoon, I met Tom's group at the DeSoto House and we proceeded to exchange shots of Jagermeister to attest to our new friendships. Little has changed. He's to my left. Great guy. Sold his company for a truckload a couple years ago. Now retired. Ski bum. World traveler. 2 and I are going to meet up with him and his wife later this month to catch up. Totally cool.This ride/day is one of my favorites of any year, so here's a Top Ten list for TOMRV 2014:
1. The new bike was a worthy participant. I had been concerned with the absence of a third crank "Granny Gear" on the front derailleur...but no worries. Made it up the big hills as good as I had with the triple crank.
2. Breakfast at the firehouse in Princeton has risen to $9. Hmmm. A little pricey, but it's a traditional stop. Why not make life easy for your cashier and go to $10? Maybe next year.
3. The volunteers who man the sag-stop booths are a great group. Most are retiree-aged men and women who may have been former riders. A very positive group of people.
4. TOMRV riders are generally inclusive, courteous and encouraging. As one of the slow-pokes on the ride, I have a lot of people passing me throughout the day. They almost all have a good word to me as they move on by.
5. The ride t-shirt this year may never be worn. Robin-egg blue. Not the most masculine choice that could have been made.
6. As not much of a beer-drinker these days, I will say that the Coors Light at the DeSoto House tasted as good as an adult beverage can.
7. My award to the biker making the biggest "Watch me" statement goes to a young-ish gal, small in stature, who passed me riding a bike like this that you see in Winter conditions. Huge, fat tires for snow (or maybe beach) travel. Sounded like a truck going past me. Can't imagine trying to get that thing up those big hills.8. We determined that the Gnat Factor went to 1000% at single-digit speeds. Going up the steepest hills near Galena, at 5-6 MPH, produced gnats off the charts. You couldn't open-mouth breathe without sucking a few in. And you had to open-mouth breathe.
9. The ambulance at the bottom of the steepest hill that we went down was a remainder of Rule #1 of Cycling. You really can't be too careful out there.
10. My decision several years ago to reduce my TOMRV to a one-day event to Galena has been a home run. Plenty of miles. Good party. My own bed on Saturday night.
In other news...
The new Starbuck's with a drive-through opened across from its previous Duck Creek Mall location on Friday. I stopped in briefly, and the place is a little bigger inside than I had been lead to believe. Ingress-egress is no walk in the park, but neither was their prior store on the other side of Middle Road. My pal's Roy and Ron will be fixtures there. I'll be curious to see if the drive-through gets them more competitive, and whether Dunn's will feel any pinch.
Finally, I've been offering up a quote from Satchel Paige lately that I remember Daddy using at times; "Don't look back, they might be gaining on you". I've been using the quote as a companion to the Tim McGraw song, "Live Like You Were Dyin'". Both are reminders that there's no time to wait (or waste), nor others to wait for.
So make it a good week in your neighborhood. Thanks for reading.
BCOT
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