Lockdown Chronicles: Mellow Sunday

14 June 2020

"Bring Rowlf tomorrow," Ricky said at the end of yesterday's ride. So I did.

Riding 18 miles straight into the wind is a theme for me and Rowlf when we're trying to get to Jim's Sunday ride on time. Maybe Miss Piggy would have been easier to pedal. Rowlf has a bigger chain ring. He's faster.

Ken G and I thought we might see each other en route, but we didn't. He went straight up Route 27 to get to the Claremont School in Franklin. Had I done that I'd've shaved a mile and maybe stayed out of the wind. I chose to ride along the canal instead. I need my Sunday moment of Zen. We arrived within minutes of each other anyway.

Unlike last week, today's group was small and mask-compliant. Nobody jumped off the front or got left behind. Jim led us through neighborhoods in Hillsborough where people with Real Money live. He planned a break at Bessie Grover Park, the one that used to have a port-a-pot, at the corner of Camp Meeting and Hollow Roads.

Before we got there we crossed over the railroad tracks just as a freight train was coming through.

The playground at the park was still closed and fenced off. That didn't stop one mother from lazily pushing her baby on a swing while she looked at her phone.

We turned south on Hollow Road. Jim's group went east on Route 518. I turned west and made my way home through Hopewell and up Carter Road.

In the end, I rode almost 19 miles to meet the group, stayed with them for about 20 miles, and spent another ten-ish getting home. Next week, Jim will be back at Blackwells Mills. The parking lot was already full when we passed it today some time before 9:30 a.m. I guess I won't be driving.