RIDE REPORT
Wednesday, 27 November 2019, Compass Rides & DBTD lunch
Ride Leader(s): Jack Donohue & John Allen
31 or 25 miles, 10:30 am start from Bikeway Source, Bedford, MA
Riders - 31 mi (14): Jack, Barbara Martin, Bill Wachur, Bob Apsler, Butch Pemstein, Curt Dudley-Marling, Fred Newton, Gerry Sheetoo, Kathy Horvath, Ray Komow (joined en route), Rudge McKenney, Russ Keene, Selig Saltzman, and Tom Amiro.
Riders - 25 mi (1): John.
Present at lunch: Clyde Kessel.
There was a bit of confusion about the later start time of 10:30 which had been chosen to sync up with the lunch reservation at Holi. No matter, the early arrivers did a few warmup laps until the actual start time.
John had signed up to lead the shorter ride, but didn't get any takers, so he joined the rest of the group for the 31 mile version, with the option to bail if the pace didn't suit him.
There was some concern about whether we could complete the ride before the forecasted rain storm, but it did not materialize. The ride proceeded smoothly, with most of the group staying together and not much arrowing needed.
The major issue was the pit stop. The usual one on this ride is the ball field on Griffin Road which is provided with one or two portajohns. Unfortunately, these are taken in for the winter, so we needed to find an alternative. Then I remembered our traditional stop across the street from the 4H fairground. This has been a regular stop on Ken Hablow rides, and many of the group who were regular Ken riders recognized it. So most of the group answered the call of nature, and we regrouped for a photo op before continuing the ride.
I made a minor booboo near the end. We were heading into Carlisle center and I hadn't looked at the route, so I assumed we would just go through the rotary and back down Rte 225. I usually go down Church Street at this point to avoid the rotary and the bad pavement in the center, so I did. In fact, we supposed to continue through the rotary onto East Street. So my group ended up missing two miles and one point of the compass (East Street). Interestingly, my group was in the minority, as most of the others had GPS and were quite happy to mutiny and follow the route rather than the leader.
Most of the group went to Holi for the traditional Indian DBTD feast (turkey samosas?). I had to bow out since we had a house guest.
Thanks once again to Butch for sweeping.
Report by Jack Donohue.
Today was a Grade-A day for a no-sweat, but not-uncomfortably-cold, ride. Selig and I embarrassed ourselves by showing up early under the mistaken impression that the rides started, as usual, at 10:00 am (rather than 10:30), but that allowed us to browse in the Bikeway Source which, it turns out, is not only a bike shop, but carries a large selection of cross-country skiing equipment.
Returning to the parking lot as the time for the ride start neared, I offered to lead the shorter ride, but there were no takers, except myself. I did manage to keep up with the rest of the group for about ten miles, but peeled off to take the shorter route back to Bedford and stopped to have a snack. Timing was perfect, as the long ride caught up with me a couple of miles short of Holi restaurant. I dined there with several others, but held to moderation and hoped that I had burned more calories during the expedition than I consumed at lunch.
Onward to Thanksgiving dinner!
Report by John Allen.
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