Miss Piggy Strikes Again

Hopewell Valley Vineyards

8 September 2013

Yesterday saw upwards of 400 riders at the Sourland Spectacular.  I don't know how much money was raised, but I hope it was at least enough to buy an acre or two.

The route stayed on the mountain most of the time, hitting some big hills but leaving out the biggest.  Jim has already summed it up. There weren't any real surprises, aside from the rather large fish head in the shade of Mountain Road.

Miss Piggy has been so well-behaved this year.  It was long past time for her to go wrong, and she did.  First she started clicking when I put any torque on the middle chain ring.  Then she decided she liked the rhythm and clicked in the big ring too.  Nothing felt loose, so I didn't panic.

Then, as I was shifting into low gear at the intersection of 518 and VanDyke going uphill, she threw her chain into the rear wheel, sending me into a low-speed, controlled fall.

It took two of us -- me and Ed -- to get the chain back where it belonged.  I only lost a little skin on my knee, but I wrenched my back when I landed.  It didn't hurt much; I didn't think it was worth holding up the group so that I could stretch.  I didn't think to do it at the next rest stop either.  I paid for that when we got to the other side of the mountain and hit Wertsville Road full-out.  I fell further and further behind as my lower back went into writer's cramp mode and I lost power.

Long Hill was next.  I figured we'd stop at the corner to collect people before going on. I could stretch there.  But I was last, and nobody had stopped.  Long Hill is a long hill.  By the time I got to the top I was so far behind that I couldn't see anyone.  So I stopped and stretched.

That did the trick, as it always does.  I popped into high gear and caught up.  We were only a couple of miles from the end of the ride at that point.  After we parked our bikes I found a low tree branch and hung there.

Jackie saw me and liked the idea.  Then I took another turn.  I might be slow, but I can do three pull-ups after a metric century.  Gotta be good at something.

The highlight of the ride was after we were finished, when Joe and Jim harmonized along to the Beatles' "You Won't See Me."