Wednesday Wheelers : Bonsai Run - September 28, 2016

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 28 September 2016, Doug's Fabulous Bonsai Ride

Ride Leaders: Doug Hobkirk & Jack Donohue

40 & 34 miles from Nashoba Valley Ski Area Westford, MA

Riders - 40 mi (10): Doug, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dave Balaban, Gene Ho, Julie Dodd, Kaz Zelny, Neil Martin, Tim Wilson, Veronica Vedensky, and Wing Chow.

Riders - 34 mi (11): Jack, Chuck McWilliams, Don Buchholtz, Gardner (Sandy) Gray, Jack Mroczkowski, Janet Miller, Jeff Smith, Martha Soper, Ray Komow, Tom Allen, and Tom Lucas.

The ride was excellent - we rode as a group and we had virtually no arrows. The heart of the ride (miles 9-27) was almost completely devoid of traffic (excluding 800 yards on Rte 40 and a half mile on Rte 113) - maybe 5-8 cars passed us. FEW cars, but LOTS of other cyclists!

We passed the short riders at mile 3 (shift cable issue), then again on Roller-Coaster Road at mile 12 (flat tire) - they had taken a shortcut to get ahead of us. And then we ran into them again at Dunkin Donuts. Whew! Half the long riders dawdled in Dunkin Donuts, while five stalwart riders waited at the intersection (I could never be as patient as they were), so I suggested they join the short group. After what seemed like two to three hours at DD, we left and continued on the ride. The rest and food amped everyone up - lots of chat - but we humped the final thirteen miles, passing the short riders at mile 35. That was a lot more interaction between our two groups than I would have thought possible.

The temperature dropped just before we arrived at Bonsai West, so we at inside one of the barns. Good food, cider, and apples (thank you, Kathy!). The convivial atmosphere inside a primitive shelter was very pleasing. Then I got to spend some time with Michael Levin, Mister Bonsai West, capping a superb day for me.

The "Rally Ride" arrows (marking the route from about mile 2 to mile 29) were reassuring (I always use them on the sweeping curves on Keyes Road). Weather report said there was not much chance we could avoid getting wet, but we and the roads stayed dry. Everyone, including me, avoided mishaps. I was tired! This was my first long ride since my accident in June.

Thanks to Gene Ho for sweeping and to all the hardy souls who ventured out and made the ride such a success.

Report by Doug Hobkirk.

Having no prior knowledge of the route, I was an excellent choice to lead the short ride, but, armed with my RideWithGps app, I was sure I could do it. Weather report was discouraging and I thought I might be off the hook for leading, but I woke to an email from Helen saying the ride was on. This turned out to be an excellent decision, since, while we had a bit of moisture for most of the ride, there was no serious rain.

I had some insider information from Ken Hablow that the route included a dirt path. This conjured up images of knarly single track and I am too old for a faceplant, so I modified the route to avoid the dirt. Truth in advertising, it was no longer a 34 mile ride, merely 33.5 miles, but I took the liberty of rounding up.

Very early in the ride Tom L. broke his rear derailleur cable. He managed to move the stop screw so the chain was two up from the smallest gear, still a pretty hefty gear (especially facing the ups and downs of Lost Lake Road). However, he soldiered on with his two speed and managed to make it over the hills - quite impressive.

The group mostly stayed together, arrow services not required for the most part. At one point I received a call from sweep Tom A., telling me that Janet had a flat tire, but they had it under control. So we whiled away the wait time with an impromptu photo shoot. While we were waiting, the long riders came by. Doug was puzzled as to how we got ahead of them and I fessed up to my route deviation. After Janet and Tom showed up, we were off again.

Things were going swimmingly when disaster struck -- the phone I was using for navigation unilaterally decided to reboot itself. Fortunately, there were others in the group that were GPS-enabled. I was later able to resuscitate the app and to my delight found it still had the route.

I hadn't worked out a rest stop, and regrouping wasn't needed, so we waited 'til Dunkin Donuts in Westford, where we had another photo op (this time with Tom and Janet). Some of us used the opportunity for a feeding. And, once again, we mingled with the long riders who showed up shortly after we arrived.

Then back on the bikes for the finish of a lovely ride. Thanks to Tom Allen for sweeping and flat repair assistance. Thanks also to Doug for planning the ride and arranging for lunch at Bonsai West.

Report by Jack Donohue