Warm Bugs

July 21, 2009 - One rider commented that it was finally warm enough to ride. It has been a cool year and tonight was a ride in the 80's. Eight riders enjoyed a 15.6 mile route at an average speed of 13 mph.

An interesting event on this evening's ride was the clouds of bugs we rode into. Most of us in the Midwest know of the bugs near corn fields that come out for just a few days a year. Our car windows quickly become coated with white splotches as the bugs spatter against them. We know not to turn the wipers on because they just smear a greasy mess over the window. These same bugs got into helmets and hair as we cycled into the flying swarm of them. It was almost as if the bugs were presenting us with a "critical mass" to disrupt our ride. Several of us were removing helmets to get the crawly creatures off of our heads. After passing the corn fields the situation improved.

There were a few hills and they spread the group out. Regrouping at the top of a hill was the norm for this evening. It was fun to ride in a double line on a flat section and converse with each other. The ending emotion was a pleased glow for a great ride.

Several admitted that they will not be there following week and it looks like the next ride will be more sparsely attended. There should still be four or more riders.

July 7, 2009 saw eight riders in our group. One was courageous enough to join us on a 3 speed just taken out of storage. Another new participant had fabricated his own disc to cover the rear wheel spokes for better aerodynamics. It is always interesting to see the varieties of equipment and the people who ride them. Bicycling is another way we celebrate diversity.

Our distance was 14.8 miles and the average speed 12.3 mph. The group kept spreading out as we encountered hills, but we frequently regrouped. Oh, I picked up a dime.

Right Past

I had to miss the ride on June 30, 2009. We were in Greenville baby sitting. I was told that they covered nearly 20 miles and the time was just under 1-1/2 hours. That suggests about a 13 mph average. When stepping out of my garage to mow the lawn, the group sailed past my drive. I counted at least five riders, and they were just finishing the route. I hope it was a good ride.