Bruno's One Sweet Ride, Allentown, NJ
24 September 2017
I wasn't sure what my legs would feel like on Sunday morning. I wrote to Plain Jim to find out if his ride was still on, and what the route would be. He'd advertised an honest B with some hills. I could pull that off if the hills weren't too big and if my legs were fresh, which they wouldn't be. Jim wrote back that I shouldn't come on his ride.
I went to our new ride calendar and signed up for Sue M's Bruno's Sunday Spin. I'd ride from home at whatever pace I felt like doing, tag along with her group for as far as she was going, then ride home again at something slower than the speed I came in on.
Only after that did Jim send me the route, which I could not only have done, but I also would have been able to peel off and head for home had I chosen to ride over. He was planning to start 17 miles from home at 8:30 a.m., though. I could sleep a little longer, leave home a bit before 8:00, and get to Allentown without worrying that I'd hold up whatever crew of fastboys decided to go on his ride.
Then John K texted me. He was on his way home from Boston and wanted to know what good things would be happening tomorrow. I sent him my plans. He said he'd be there if he got back at a reasonable hour.
Rowlf said he wanted to be my Sunday bike. He's always the one I choose when I'm on a recovery ride. When I set out we had just under 500 miles together. It took about ten more miles for me to realize that all of my bikes need Campagnolo. People tell me, "Campy doesn't wear out. It wears in." 500 miles must be that magic wearing-in point.
On my way over I pondered Jim's ride some more. I bet some of the Slug regulars would show up. They'd probably ask where I was. "Tired" would be the diplomatic answer. "Too slow" would be between the lines. They'd probably all be relieved that they wouldn't have to wait for me at the top of every hill.
I arrived at Bruno's with glops of sweat on my arms. I think I alarmed Mindy and Sue M a little when I pulled in.
Then Sue R, the newest convert to Hill Sluggishness, arrived, and the four of us set out.
We were going to Columbus and would be on the Kinkora Trail. She wanted to get some pictures. I stopped to get a few on the eastern end, before the path goes under the trees.
The goldenrods were out in force.
At the deli in Columbus we sat on a porch next to the store. A chicken wandered up, followed by two kids and two more chickens. The birds followed the kids around like a dog would. I didn't get any of them tagging along, but I did manage to snap a few that weren't blurry.
The dark one was pretty, but she ducked under the porch before I could get a good picture of her.
It was here that Sue let slip that today was her birthday. As we approached Allentown I suggested to Mindy that I'd duck into Bruno's and snag something for her. I couldn't remember if there were cupcakes in there. There weren't, but Sue is a regular there, and Jim Bruno's daughter (who runs the candy section and whose name I can't recall) knew what she'd like. I came out with two dark chocolate-coated pretzels, neatly wrapped with a ribbon. Sue R disappeared and came back with neatly-wrapped almond bark. Both of the Brunos came out to wish Sue a happy birthday.
We all agreed that today's ride was a lot of fun. "Come back when you want to relax," Sue said. I didn't check the pace (I hadn't zeroed out my computer from the ride in), but it had felt like a mellow B.
On my way out of Allentown I stopped for pictures of Indian Lake at the Allentown-Robbinsville border.
I was feeling a little tired, but the smoothness of the Campy Athena shifting was making me happy. Definitely Beaker -- Michael Johnson and I had already talked about that -- but probably Kermit too. Piggy, forget it. Her setup is too weird to be replicated.
I had 63.5 miles when I got home. It was Rowlf's first metric. My pace was smack-dab in the middle of B. I wondered what Jim and the Slugs had done.
When I stepped into the kitchen, there was a present from John K waiting for me. He'd been on the JDRF ride in Saratoga Springs a week ago. I'd told him to get his caffeine fix at Saratoga Coffee Traders. He did one better than that. He brought me home a bag of Death Wish, and a water bottle from the ride, too.
"YOU DA MAN!!!" I texted him.
He'd arrived in Allentown minutes after we'd left. Dang.
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