Wednesday, 26 September 2018, Eli’s 80th Birthday Ride & Party
Ride Leader: Jack Donohue
Party organizer: Susan Grieb
23 miles, 10:30 am start from Jack’s & Susan’s, Bedford, MA
Riders (36): Jack, Alan Cantor, Alan Lemire, Alex Post, Ann Northup, Bernie Flynn, Butch Pemstein, Clyde Kessel, Curt Dudley-Marling, David Fay, Dom Jorge, Don Mannes, Eli Post, Francie Sparks, Frank Hubbard, Gardner Gray, Gene Ho, Gerry Sheetoo, Harriet Fell, Ilkka Suvanto, Jack Mroczkowski, Janet Miller, Jim Whinfield, Kathy Horvath, Kaz Zelny, Lindy King, Maria Noya, Mike Byrne, Patria Vandermark, Rich Taylor, Richard Fortier, Rochelle Holman, Roy Westerberg, Selig Saltzman, Susan Sabin, and Tom Allen.
Party-Goers (11): Barbara Martin, Bob Wolf, Brett Serkez, Doug Hobkirk, Elizabeth Wicks, Helen Greitzer, John Allen, Ken Hablow, Mike Hanauer, Rick Carlson, and Rita Cramer.
I had a premonition that this was going to be an "interesting" ride when a couple of riders showed up early for the now defunct Ken long ride. They evidently didn't get the cancellation memo, but contented themselves with circling for a half hour in an attempt to regain the missing miles.
The ride had an inauspicious start, as a line of cars stretched out on my road as far as the eye could see, and I had to do some additional mileage cruising back and forth trying to take attendance. I tried in vain to herd everyone up my driveway, but no one seemed to hear. Where is Ken (the human megaphone) when you need him? Anyway, when I had finally collected most of the group on a patch of grass in front of the house, our lawn service people showed up and proceeded to fire up their engines to mow that very piece of grass. So now we added engine noise onto the roar of the crowd. I wanted at least to do the roll call to make sure I got everyone or at least tell people who the sweep was (Kathy). But noooo. So we took off and I hoped for the best.
First few miles were ridden textbook WW fashion, with me in the lead and human arrows stepping in as required. Eventually, some of the group decided I was too slow and blasted ahead. Fine with me, as most of the faster riders have GPS and I don't have to worry about them getting lost. Gradually, however, more and more of the group felt the need for speed. What was odd was that some of the breakaway group decided to pay forward and arrow at the turns. That was nice, if somewhat unexpected.
What I had neglected to mention, or was unable to mention, at the start was that there was no good place for a comfort/rewatering stop on the route, and that there was the possibility of a short off-course excursion to the visitor center. My remaining riders, aka "the chase group," opted for that, but Kathy wisely pointed out that, if any of the breakaway people decided to arrow, they would be there forever, or at least until we had returned from our comfort/rewatering stop, photo op, etc. at the visitor center. So Kathy stayed with the lead group as sweep and Rich stepped into the breach as new sweep of the chase group.
It somehow all worked out, we ended up back at my house where the birthday party was in full swing, and, more importantly, they hadn't finished all the beer.
Thanks to Kathy and Rich for sweeping.
On a cautionary note, word got back that one of the riders seemed to be spending a lot of time on the centerline of the road, That's a DDT (Don't Do That). The only good reason to stray from the right is to avoid large, gaping potholes, of which there are many. As a practical matter, giving motorists the choice of joining the peloton at 15 mph or passing too closely is not a good idea.
Report by Jack Donohue.
I was delighted to see many old friends who joined the ride and party and greeted me with kindness and affection. CRW has been an important part of my life for many years, and I was happy to be remembered. I thank my dear friends, Jack and Susan, for graciously making their home available for the party, and also thank Jack for leading the ride.
My next birthday ride will be in 2023, when I reach 85, so save the date and gear up for another celebration party.
Report by Eli Post.
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