Water Row - June 28, 2017

RIDE REPORT

Wednesday, 28 June 2017, Water Row
Ride Leaders:  Mary & Larry Kernan
31 or 40 miles  - 10:00 am & 9:30 am starts from Bikeway Source parking lot, Bedford, MA

Riders - 31mi (19):  Mary, Barry Kaditz, Butch Pemstein, Clyde Kessel, Don Mannes, Elissa Brown, Francie Sparks, Gene Ho, Ilkka Suvanto, Jack Donohue, Jack Mroczkowski, Janet Miller, Nancy Schlecht, Pat Brennan, Richard Vignoni, Robert Wilson, Steve Robins, Susan Sabin, and Wing Chow.
Riders - 40 mi (19):  Larry, Adena Schutzberg, Andy Brand, Barbara Martin, Bill Lane, Bob Wolf, Dave Balaban, Joe Marcangelo, Judith McMichael, Julie Dodd, Kathy Horvath, Kevin Donnelly, Lindy King, Marc Baskin, Mike Byrne, Rich Taylor, Steve Kolek, Tom Fortmann, and Veronica Vedensky.

This was an easy ride for me to lead because Larry set up the route; Jack offered to take attendance and sweep; and it was an experienced and easy going Wednesday Wheeler group.  I decided to forego a detailed safety talk and, instead, focused on my biggest pet peeve - cyclists who don't single up when someone calls "car back."  Although this is hard to monitor from the front, given the number of cars that passed me on narrow streets, it appears that the group was well disciplined.

We followed a route that looked suspiciously like the one Kathy Horvath led last week, and that only speaks to her good taste in laying out a ride.  The long ride option added Page Road into Lexington and a loop around Pelham Island Road in Wayland.  I offered the group a chance to go out via Page Road instead of Wood Street and was shocked (shocked!!) when I got no takers.

We stayed together until Rte 2A when Wing Chow was the first to peel off the front and disappear.  (Apparently, he had been riding with the wrong group - see below.)  There were several stops to regroup along the way, especially after a few hills and traffic lights that split us up.  Starting at around mile 18, about a third of the group picked up the pace and we started to spread out.  This worked really well, as it's a much safer way for everyone to ride.  I stayed in the lead and never went above 95 rpm, in spite of being spurred on by Pat Brennan, who, along with others, was happy to stay with me.  Our able arrowers also realized that you can easily turn a WW ride into a great interval workout by arrowing, dropping to the back, and then sprinting to the front.

We stopped for a rest and a group photo at Verrill Farm, where we were met by the long group and had to shoo away several of its members who wanted to get in on our picture.  We also managed to pull out before the long group was ready to leave.  I think that its leader could use some pointers on how to manage a group.  The route for all was the same on the return to Bedford from Verrill Farm, and once I was passed by the leader of the long ride option, I took a familiar spot staring at his backside for the rest of the ride.

We had a total of ten from both rides who joined us for lunch at Holi.  A good time was had by all.

Report by Mary Kernan.

We had a beautiful day for one of my favorite rides.  Our large, but spirited, group quickly made the climb up Page Hill into Lexington.  I was encouraged that our group hung together on the hill.  Tom and Steve joined us in Lexington and we headed towards our second climb on Bedford Road, heading into Lincoln.  At a quick bio-break at Lincoln Town Hall, Wing Chow who had fled from the shorter ride, caught up with us.

The group stayed reasonably close together and our arrows and sweep all performed flawlessly.  As we hit Pelham Island Road, we found Barbara Martin and Bob Wolf waiting for us.  Riders enjoyed the great views on Pelham Island Road and Water Row.  We caught up with the 31 mile riders who were lounging at Verrill Farm.  After our second short break, our sweep, Kathy, asked to address the riders.  Kathy was concerned that a couple of our riders were being "lazy" about singling up when "car back" was called.  (Thanks, Kathy, for sweeping, as well as for caring about the group's safety.)

We finished our ride to Bedford briskly where a few of our riders joined with a few of the shorter riders for a fabulous buffet lunch at Holi.  Overall, our group had a great ride, stayed together and averaged over 15 mph.

Report by Larry Kernan.

Long riders at start

Short riders at Verrill Farm