Wednesday, 9 October 2019, Doug's Annual Bonsai Rides
Ride Leaders: Doug Hobkirk & Clyde Kessel
34 or 40 miles, 10:00 am start from Bonsai West, Westford MA
Riders - 34 mi (5) : Doug, David Fay, Merle Adelman, Sally Chapman, and Wing Chow.
Riders - 40 mi (6): Clyde, Geoff Allard, Gerry Sheetoo, Rich Taylor, Rochelle Holman, and first-timer Richard Brown.
The short ride group left shortly after the long. David had just done a 53-mile ride (his longest ride ever - congratulations!) and his legs did not need serious climbs, so he returned on his own. Wing ("I arrived late") joined us for a few miles and then blasted ahead to do the longer ride. He didn't connect, so he caught us again as we rode across Westford. Merle was a freaking monster - if only we could have transferred some of her vigor to David, he could have continued. I would like to have been able to talk to him more.
The foliage colors were wonderful and the sun appeared briefly while we were on Martin Pond Road (my favorite road - I built this route around this road). A large blue heron took off and flew over us near the 4H Fairground - what a delight!
I bored people with my ride anecdotes about a bagpipe player, wild bamboo, and my perception that several miles felt to me like we were in a wilderness (despite there being a paved road!).
Lunch was excellent. There may have only been three of us who stayed for lunch, but we were an outstanding three! And Kathy, my much-too-good-for-me wife, added hot cocoa and brownies.
Thank you Clyde, Kathy, and Helen. And special thanks to Michael Levin for allowing us to use his "museum" - Bonsai West.
Report by Doug Hobkirk.
In years past, this ride has been plagued with problems: broken hips, exploding bikes, two Clydes on the same ride, European visitors getting lost, entire groups getting lost, entire lunch getting lost, and so on. We seem to have turned a corner though, as this year the ride went off without a hitch. (Come on, a dropped chain does not count). The forecast was for some light rain, but it didn’t happen - we stayed dry for the entire ride and the after-ride lunch.
The long group set off very close to 10:00 am (it was kind of chilly and rain was in the forecast so no one wanted to dillydally). We followed a somewhat modified version of the route which kept the mileage the same, but avoided the (wet) gravel road, the (wet) forest path, and the construction on Rte 113 near Dunstable center.
We never needed a human arrow because the group stayed close together. I do thank Gerry very much for being the sweep. Even though the group stayed together, having a designated sweep (wearing a unique jersey) is a big help so the leader can see that everyone is nearby. It was also very helpful that various riders would call out that everyone had made it through an intersection.
The long group maintained a 14 mph average and arrived at the finish just as the short group were putting their bikes in their cars.
The lunch in the bonsai garden was, as usual, lovely and relaxing. It is kind of sad that only three people stayed to enjoy it.
Report by Clyde Kessel.
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