Wednesday, 21 December 2016, The Penultimate Hurrah 2016
Ride Leader: Jack Donohue
30.4 miles, 10:00 am start from parking lot behind/beside the Bikeway Source, Bedford, MA
Riders (17): Jack, Andy Brand, Barbara Martin, Barry Nelson, Bob Wolf, Butch Pemstein, Curt Dudley-Marling, Dom Jorge, Doug Hobkirk, Everett Briggs, Francie Sparks, Gene Ho, Ken Hablow, Larry Kernan, Richard Vignoni, Susan Sabin, and Wing Chow.
Present at lunch: Helen Greitzer.
Q - When is a Wednesday Wheeler ride not a Wednesday Wheeler ride?
A - When there's no one to lead.
Read on. . . . .
We were all ready to go when someone noticed a Late Arrival (LA). It was well past post time, but I figured I could wait a few more minutes. The rest of the group, who'd been waiting for a while in the cold, decided they could not and took off.
When the dust settled, the only cyclists remaining were LA, Barry (who volunteered to sweep), Andy (who volunteered to help), and I. This was somewhat worse than last time, when a mere 2/3 of the group departed without me, enough to make one paranoid. So instead of a pleasant leisurely Wheeler ride, I had to engage chase mode in a vain attempt to catch the group. This was clearly futile since, having thrown off the shackles of arrowing duty, they were free to go as fast as they possibly could and take no prisoners.
So I played catch up for a while, until there came a fork in the road (sound familiar?). Naturally I took the wrong one and was blissfully unaware until the road ended and my Lady of the Phone had no advice as to which way to turn. So, I realized my mistake and LA and I turned around. Unfortunately, Andy and Barry didn't see us go the wrong way; they kept on going the right way. So now we were in the strange situation where the sweep was ahead of the leader, but we managed to catch up to them and our group of four was restored to its proper order.
We did eventually catch up to the rest of the group at the Ken Hablow Rest Stop on South Chelmsford Road, where I forced everyone to pause for a group photo. While Barry and I were using the facilities, they again left us in the dust, this time including LA and Andy, so Barry and I had no one to lead. Nice work if you can get it.
I saw a rider in the distance and had a fleeting hope that my group had started arrowing again. Alas, it was only Everett, who very kindly had waited to point out a large patch of black ice in the road.
At the ride start I had announced an alternative rest stop at Great Brook Farm, since the ski touring center portajohns were locked. This required a slight deviation off course, so the question was whether the group would make the detour, having already relieved themselves at the KHRS. The answer was yes and no. The chase group who were visible when we neared the turn decided to stay with the program, so we were able to catch up with them at the farm. I gave them the option of resuming the rest of the ride in true Wheeler fashion, arrows and all, or continuing the wild ride they had been on. They opted for arrows. In the end I was able to lead 1/2 the riders 1/3 of the time, so it wasn't a total bust, leader-wise.
Four of us (Barry, Francie, Helen, and I) went to Ken's NY Deli for lunch.
Thanks to Barry for sweeping.
PS - I am happy to report that the "Curse of Butch" has lifted. This was the first time in quite a while that Butch was able to complete one of my rides without mishap.
Sermon on the Dismount
We need to talk about tardiness. It seems every time I lead a Wheeler ride, one or more people come late. It's one thing to wait around a bit on a warm summer day, quite another to stand around shivering when the temperatures are in the 20s.
So I've decided, on my rides, no more Mister Nice Guy. From now on there will be zero tolerance for lateness. If the ride starts at 10:00 am, we will roll at 10:00 - or at least immediately after boring ride details and the roll call.
This is not as Draconian as it sounds. Nowadays, most, if not all, rides have a published route which you can download to gps or phone. Failing that, you can print out the cue sheet and bring it. If you arrive late, you're on your own, so like a good boy scout, be prepared.
Report by Jack Donohue.
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| At the start |
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| The whole group at the KHRS |
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| This time with Barbara's phone |
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