Aggie's Ice Cream Ride - July 7, 2021

 RIDE REPORT

 

Wednesday, 7 July 2021, Aggie's Ice Cream Ride

Ride Leader:  Karen Saltus

~33 miles, 10:00 am start from 16 Pocahontas Road, Kittery Point, ME

Riders (17):  Karen, Bernie Mango, Catherine Widgery, Don Mannes, Gene Ho, Joanne Samuels, Kate Strauchon, Patrick Ward, Paula Bossone, Rita Cramer, Rochelle Holman, Selig Saltzman, Susan Sabin, and first timers Gina Harrison, Mark Gotts, Sue Lupo, and Stephanie ???.

It was a hot and humid morning when we gathered at the leader’s house for a ride on beautiful back roads in southern Maine.  About five miles in, a rider had a rear derailleur cable break.  Using ingenuity and gauze, the rider was able to tie a knot in the cable to get a few more gears out of his bike for the rest of the ride.  Another rider had a few chain incidents during the day, but those were handled quickly and successfully.

On the way to Aggie’s Ice Cream, the leader realized that she had used the mileage from the usual start at the Lion’s Club instead of her house, which meant the ride would be at least nine miles longer than advertised.  Many of the riders who pay close attention to their GPS devices had pretty much already figured that out . . . . .

We rode along quiet roads until we reached a construction area.  The flagger indicated that the road was torn up for several miles, but the leader, being from these parts, knew an alternate route.  Taking a guess as to where the construction ended, the leader turned down a tree lined, shady street where we all enjoyed a slight downhill to the end of the road, exactly at the end of the construction area!

 

A few miles from Aggie’s, a rider, who lives locally and was on an ebike, shot ahead of the group, never to be seen again.  Since she had the leader’s telephone number and didn’t get in touch, AND was on an ebike, AND lives locally, it is assumed that she arrived comfortably back home, cleaned up, and enjoyed a cold beverage.

 

We rolled into Aggie’s Ice Cream, hot, thirsty, and ready for refreshment.  (FYI for future riders – the kiddie cone is probably the way to go. The servings at Aggie's are quite large.). We headed out of Aggie’s and rode through a series of neighborhood roads in a small but beautiful development, in order to avoid the congestion in South Berwick.  We then reversed our route for the return to Kittery Point.

Due to the heat and the extra miles, one rider called for a ride back to her car.  Our group stretched out a bit on the way home.  Some wanted to press on quickly to get back to the house – others wanted to rest up from time to time, but we all made it back in a timely manner and enjoyed food, folks, and fun at the leader’s house.

 

The leader was quite concerned that we ended up with 45 miles instead of 33 (SORRY! – I blame Pandemic Brain), but everyone handled it well and most people were happy to have done more mileage than they had planned.  The leader is eternally grateful for the flexibility and graciousness of the group.

Report by Karen Saltus.