rollin' w/the boys -- RB Winter p. ii

Wednesday marked yet another 4th of July. The day began at the ass-crack of dawn with the traditional RB Winter Century. 113 miles of road riding goodness.

the plan was this. go out with the pack - hang on for dear life until I was dropped to the point of no return and then hang back with LL and Curt and make our way on our own - or cut it short. plans changed quickly as the ride progressed.
When we began, i was one of 2 ladies in the pack - and still a little sore from monday's cross ride. it was a nice sized group. from Glover, Frank, Jimbo, Harry, Linda, Eric N, Mike, Fred, raymo... to Matt and others. All of whome were definitely well outside of my Linda / Curt riding compadre comfort level. Eric R showed up on his trek cross bike - decked out will a kickin 80 lbs of pressure and full knobbies. nice. that's good - give me a fighting chance. funny enough, for as long as we've been friends this was only our second ride together!

I made it through Lemont, and up Brush Valley. The fast boys were tired from the double on Sunday and the PBP training - so they didn't even go for the sprints. the pace was good - relaxed but brisk for my level. perfect actually. A few pulled off at Penns Cave, but I was feeling good so I tucked in close to Eric and continued on. Next thing I know, i turn around and 2 had become one. I was the only female left on the ride. We were down to a pack of 9 and we were well beyond Rebersburg so I was essentially screwed.

Ha! eric said - now you're stuck with us. Thank goodness for this guy - Curt. He's has pulled me through a good number of rides and is always smiling, talking about his seemingly awesome family, and reminiscing about his racing days.





onward we went. It was a nice feeling to be part of that group. I was almost like the "little sister" of the pack in that i felt they were looking out for me. Eric would reprimand once in a while for pushing too big of a gear. And, why arent your drafting more? The few pulls that i took up front were also moderated "you should drop back". it was cool. i didn't want to not be a part of the group - but i also didn't want to burn myself out and not make it back.


I learned a lot about riding in a tight paceline. maintaining a straight line. judging people around me. and riding close to people. and oh yea, how not to fall when some jerk, i mean, uh, good friend, decides to grab your jersey just to mess with/u. :) Then came the climb. And as hard as it is to believe - i wasn't the last one up to the top. Granted the two people behind me were cramping....

At the bottom of the hill, when we regrouped Frank noted that my rear wheel was crooked and was rubbing on my frame and fixed up the serotta for me. oops. i guess i was practicing some resistance training for the first 65/70 miles of the ride. Roman's wheel was out of true following a little off of the road stunt so he did a quick tune-up as well while we waited to regroup.

we caught this guy on a recumbent wearing a rockin silver BMX helmet w/stickers. he cruised all the way down the hill with us and kept talking all of the way down. He wouldn't stop even though non of us were responding! He continued to follow us through spring mills. Fred was guilty of enabling as you can see.
At Spring Mills we were able to lose the recumbant man. I finally found those glow in the dark condoms that I had always wondered about (bathroom in the bar across the street). I guess in Spring Mills it's important to always know where all body parts are - at all times.


And finally, my favorite part of any post-spring mills ride - the goats. And yes, they were ON THE COUCH. look close - there's a baby on the love seat. He's not lounging like the adult I saw a month or so ago was - but he's there. And this scene can ONLY be found (along with glow in the dark condoms) in central PA.

Yes!

The ride left me tired yet also completely pumped. I had survived a ride with the boys. They were super chill and took care of me all the way - didn't push the pace and made sure i was in tow at all times. it was a confidence boost to know I could do it alone AND a fun way to spend the 4th - catching up with people on the bike. the evening brought fireworks, good food, crazy dogs racing around and jumping in koi ponds and me, planted in a chair drinking beer and water and recovering from a long day. no better way to cap off an awesome day. yay for a fun fourth!