Recovered Recovery Ride

Flower Farm, Route 518, Montgomery, NJ

29 July 2018

After a much-needed week off the bike* I woke up far too early for a Sunday morning and rolled out of the house on Kermit at something before 7:00 a.m.

Forty minutes later I caught Andrew at the light where Canal Road meets Route 518. We reached Six Mile Run State Park five minutes before Jim's ride was scheduled to depart. There were a few people still getting ready when we crunched up the half-paved driveway.

Jim is getting himself quite a following for these Sunday morning recovery rides. Today there were eight of us, enough for him to recruit Dr. Lynne to sweep.

We got spread out at times, with Ricky and Prem always up front. This is the same Ricky who climbed with Jim and Tom yesterday. The man does. not. get. tired. 

I only stopped for pictures once, as we passed the flower farm on Route 518 just west of Route 206 in Montgomery. 

Lynne dutifully waited for me, which she needn't have done because we were practically across the street from the rest stop. That's the sign of a good sweep!

At this early hour -- 9:30 a.m. -- my little, home-made, peanut butter sandwich was more of a second breakfast than an early lunch. I did pass up a chocolate chocolate-chip muffin behind glass though. That was tough to do.

We were in Rocky hill when there was a simultaneous double mishap: George's chain snagged mid-shift and Andrew's front derailleur snapped. George hit the pavement at low speed , scraping his elbow and (as I am finding out at this very moment via Messenger) cracking his helmet (which he didn't discover until he got home). Andrew was behind him, bent over his own bike, jiggling the derailleur. The two events weren't related but they looked as if they ought to have been. It would have made perfect sense if George had dropped his chain and Andrew had slammed into him.

After that we stuck closer together through the old money streets in Princeton. When the group turned towards campus I peeled off on Mercer Street for my regular commute route home.

The week off the bike did me some good, and the timing is perfect. Next week is the first weekend of August, the traditional date for the Princeton Event. We're not holding the Event this year. Instead, Tom has whipped up a handful of Event-like routes. He's planning to lead a metric. I'm going to lead the century because for the past fourteen Events that's the route I've done. Why stop now?





(*but not away from weight lifting or the elliptical cross-trainer because I'm addicted to exercise)