Gem in the Rough ride - June 3, 2015

RIDE REPORT

 
Wednesday, June 3, 2015, Gem in the Rough ride - Sharon to Diamond Hill, RI - & party

Ride Leaders:  Jean & Ken Zaniewski
44 & 25 miles, 10:00 am start from 244 Old Post Road, Sharon, MA.

Riders - 44 mi (14):  Ken, Annemarie Altman, Barry Nelson, Bob Apsler, Chuck McWilliams, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dmitry Gorenburg, Jody Angevin, Kim Wach, Rich Taylor, Veronica Vedensky, and first-timers Lory Broderick, Michael Diener, and Nancy Dragoon

Riders - 25 mi (15):  Jean, Andrea Clardy, Chris Schuch, Dave Slade, Don Buchholtz, Don Mannes, Donald O'Rourke, Gene Konik, Ilkka Suvanto, James Hsia, Kathy Jonas, Kevin Donnelly, Susan Sabin, Tami Kellogg, plus one whose name is illegible

Present at lunch (3):  Helen Greitzer, Tom Kinraide, and Forbesy Russell

Fourteen riders set out on the longer, 44 mile ride, led by Ken Zaniewski and swept by Barry Nelson.  They were followed five minutes later by fifteen riders on the shorter, 25 mile ride, led by Jean Zaniewski and swept by Kevin Donnelly.  The weather was a bit chilly and windy, though certainly warmer and less wet than the near freezing rain earlier in the week.  The only mechanical problem was one flat in the long group.  As this occurred only about six miles into the ride, and was a lengthy changing process, the short riders had the pleasure of overhauling the long group and then keeping the lead all the way through the Gilbert State Forest split.

The short riders enjoyed a Dunkin Donuts stop in Wrentham center, while the long riders made do with a lonely portapotty next to a baseball field in Cumberland, RI.

All riders made it back to Ken and Jean’s house in good cheer and with a good appetite.   Helen Greitzer, newly returned from Singapore, joined us for the after-ride party.  She was enthusiastically welcomed by all, and gladdened Jean’s heart by commenting that one might need to visit England to see gardens as lovely as hers.  Sharonites Forbesy Russell and Tom Kinraide, who have enjoyed WW hikes previously, also joined us at the after-ride party.

There were no safety problems and the pavement was mostly smooth.  Most of the roads were lightly traveled, with “a long distance between arrows,”  and the scenery was full of farms and forests, along with a penitentiary or two.  Jean did lead the short ride down a premature, wrong right turn, but was quickly corrected by the one rider with a GPS cue sheet up and running.  Otherwise we may have visited the Wrentham State School from a different direction, though our quick peek at the Lazy Looper model airplane field did make the wrong turn interesting.  All in all, a very successful day.

Ride report by Jean Zaniewski.