Tom's Ride

On Aug. 23rd, we were fortunate to start and end our ride from Tom and Denise's home; great area to ride in and the backyard setting was perfect for the group. We took advantage of the quiet country roads of Macedon, Palmyra, Pumpkin Hook, Farmington and Egypt for a scenic 20 mile ride. I was glad Tom lead this ride as he knows the roads well and I found my sense of direction a little off as we were riding in the reverse direction from many of my previous adventures in this area. We rode out the last few miles with the short group, helping out with a few lost chains along the way. I will have to remember to put another old sock in my bike bag, as I gave mine to Christine so she could get the grease off her fingers after replacing her chain. Cotton fabric works so much better than those little packages of wet wipes!

At Tom and Denise's place, we had plenty of food and beverages to choose from including a hot sheet of pizza compliments of our hosts. Many thanks!!! Another surprise was the appearance of a lovely cake thanking the four ride leaders for the summer rides. I heard Barry dropped it off early in the evening, but did not stay to ride. Thank-you Barry, that was very thoughtful of you and whomever was involved in this. The cake was sooo good! I also had the pleasure of eating someone's homemade cookies...just melted in my mouth...definitely worth the calories.

Once it became completely dark, those that remained settled ourselves around the outdoor firepit under a full moon to enjoy a little more conversation before heading home. What more could we ask for on a Tuesday night?!

Karen's Ride

I am getting a bit lazy here, not posting for a WHOLE WEEK! I blame it on the difficulty in trying to figure out how to incorporate a slide show into the blog; NOT easy, but if you go back to our Penfield Town Hall ride you will see a good one and there is a short one from last Sunday's rainy ride as well, finally. Technology would be so much more fun if it were a little more user-friendly.

The ride on Aug. 17th from Karen's house in Penfield was really fun, with perfect weather and a great turn-out of riders. The nine that rode the hills of Penfield with me were Erica, Gene, Michele, Glen, Tom, Steve F, Steve W, Brian and Olga. The route worked out well, despite some busier roads at the beginning and gradually turned into very quiet and hilly country roads. Nice! Brian took a really cool photo of the group as we rested at the top of Furman Hill, by climbing up to higher ground to capture all of us at an interesting angle. There are more pictures from this ride and the party at Karen's that I hope to put into a slide show soon.

After the ride, we were able to comfortably relax and socialize on Karen's back deck with plenty of food and drink to satisfy everyone. My favorite treat was made by John's wife, Linda; decadent shortbread loaded with honey glazed nuts, so healthy and sweet, yum! I brought carrot cake muffins to celebrate Karen's birthday - wanted to sing the corny birthday song to her, but she begged us not to. Happy Birthday Karen!

Heather shared with us her adventurous and successful experience in the Iron Girl competition; she has inspired both Karen and myself to consider doing it next year. Really, I just want one of those beautiful jerseys that participants receive for completing it - looked great on Heather ;)

With moving day fast approaching, Del brought a nice collection of ceramics serving dishes, vases and other miscellaneous items to Karen's and let us take home anything that caught our fancy. I found some nice wood pieces that will look lovely on my table. Thanks Del!

It was too bad that the temperature dropped after the ride, as we finally had a pool to cool off in. Brian was the only one brave enough to take a dip and he did not seem chilled at all. That hot tub would have been irresistible, had it been opened. Next time I shall speak up!

Riding in the Rain

It should not have been a wash out. Forecast showed only a 40% chance of rain and the radar in the early morning hours looked fine, but mother nature likes to surprise us occasionally. We were not able to get back to the park quickly, so we rode out the second half of our ride in a persistent steady rain. For me the worst part of riding in the rain was having the sunblock on my face wash down into my eyes and my mouth; my eyes did not suffer too much, but the taste of the sunblock was awful! On the positive side, our ride on Sunday, Aug. 14th was exhilarating with big hills and beautiful scenery on many roads that we have rarely, if ever traversed. At times I felt like I was on a roller coaster and now that I am familiar with the roads, it would be even more fun to do this again and throw caution to the wind! I'm not sure everyone else liked the challenge of this route, but all survived, staying relatively close as a group.

I saw more animals than usual on this one; fox, red-tailed hawk, heron and lots of deer. Brian pointed out a barn full of cats staring out at us as we passed in the rain. It was tempting to join them. In Ionia, we split up as a group with Erica, Lydia and Gene preferring to get back to the cars and home to dry clothing, while Gary, Brian and myself elected to stop at the Sweet Solutions Cafe to warm up, dry off a bit and get a bite to eat. This was a nice place with lots of character and all the food was homemade and delicious, (check out the story behind the cafe with the link below). Gary had waffles that came with real maple syrup and Brian had an gourmet omelet that looked so delicious, I forgot why I ordered a muffin?

Stopping at the Cafe did not leave that break in the rain that we hoped for, so with a great deal of will power, we got back on the bikes to complete the last 5 or 6 miles back to the park. Still,
I can't wait to try this route and this cafe again soon.
http://sweetsolutions.littlefingerlakes.com

Marge's Ride

The annual Marge's ride went really well this past Tuesday with perfect summer conditions and a terrific rider turnout. I had 11 people in my group; a record for this summer, with the addition of some new and some returning riders like Dick Fox, (so nice to see him again). Fortunately, I felt very strong and did not have trouble keeping ahead of the group. The two Steve's were also extra speedy on this one! Our average speed, despite the many stops and turns of the residential streets of Irondequoit, was close to 15.5 mph and we lost no one along the way. The return to the parking lot on the smooth new route 590 was a blast, being all downhill for a good long mile or so. No reports of mishap from the short group, so I assume all went well for them.

There was one scary moment in our group, I must admit, when a man using a cell phone failed to see our group coming down Lakeshore Blvd. and almost drove right into us while turning left onto Kings Highway. As a bike rider, I will never trust drivers to my safey; too many are just not paying attention or are ignorant of the rights of bicyclists to be on the road. I guess I would call that "defensive riding".

Back at the ranch, or Marge's, we all enjoyed the opportunity to be on the beach at sunset, enjoying our beverages and food. Gene takes the prize this time for the most spectacular contribution to the smorgasborg of food shared with a homemade stuffed pizza that was delicious! Kathy E. brought her blueberry salsa with chips and it must have been good because it was gone before I had some...next time. Lastly, we had the honor of Kel's presence and he was as much fun as always, staying out rather late to reconnect with the group. One of the nice things about the Marge's ride is that we often have a more diverse group, with spouses, family and friends that cannot or prefer not to join us on the road, but like to socialize just the same.

A Metric Challenge

On Sunday, August 8th, 2010, we finally ventured into a longer ride - a metric century - starting at Webster Park and stopping in Pultneyville/B.Forman Park, Sodus Point and the town of Sodus for a late breakfast. Our energetic group included Terry, Steve F., Michele, Brian and myself, although I started out much slower than the rest, probably because of a poor nights sleep, (again). Our average mileage was around 16.5 for a while, but dropped a bit as we reached the halfway point or Sodus. 'Found some new country roads that run parallel to Route 14, that were very nice and I will insist that we take them the next time we ride out this way. I think what I liked most about these roads was the fact that they were partly wooded, curvy rolling hills with virtually no traffic or residential settlements. We did stop to pick some very ripe cherries along the way and to take a few pictures. Speaking of pictures, I have quite a few from this trip, thanks to Brian, but need to find a way to post them in a slide show format in the blog.

Breakfast in Sodus was not great, as we went to a new establishment with an island flare and a poorly trained cook. At least the customer service was good. The ideal place to stop would have been Nick's Family Restaurant on Ridge Rd, just before the village of Sodus. It was crowded, so I took a chance that we might find a good place in town, but there is not!

So, we completed this long ride uneventfully and without too much pain. We were greatful for the cloudy skies, which kept the temperatures much more bearable as it was in the 80's and humid. The really great thing about doing a long ride like this is not only more time to ride and be with friends, but I find it really increases my endurance on subsequent rides. I was even able to run this morning for a longer time period, before needing to slow down and walk.

Thanks to Michele for bringing her wonderful, healthy, homemade zucchini muffins and jam. Brian supplied the blueberries - delicious! I brought coconut water to hydrate with, to Steve's dismay, (remember he does not like coconut for some reason). It's funny how closely tied food is to this blog on cycling. I think it may be one of the main reasons we ride...to enjoy the rewards!

New Life in Penfield

Another very warm ride on Tuesday night starting from Penfield Town Hall, heading east and then north into the Ontario area. Only one significant hill for my group, but a favorite, on Jacobs Road. I hit 39 mph on this one for the first time - yeah! My energy seemed to wane after that though and I rode toward the end of the group for the second half of the ride. We had almost the same group as last week with the exception of Erica and Gene. The overall turnout for this ride was smaller than last week, probably because of the heat and the fact that bursts of rain fell from random cells that moved through the area at 5:30pm. Look out for random radical rain cells... sounds scary anyway.

The real excitement for the evening occurred in the short group with quite a few witnessing the first moments of life for a new baby calf born in a farmer's field near the side of the road in Penfield. Karen sent me the photo, taken just after the calf stood on her feet for the first time. A video would have been really nice for this occasion. Eventually I hope to put a video clip into the blog, but for now I'm happy to have figured out how to include a slide show. Thanks to Dave for figuring most of this out - I would have given up! Thanks Gene for the book on blogging for dummies, very helpful! I am also grateful to Brian for the great photo's he takes on most of our rides; please send more!

So, what was my favorite food at the tailgate gathering? This time it was my very own guacamole!

Memory Lane and Beyond

What a nice ride and brunch we had on Sunday, Aug. 1st. Steve F. was kind enough to host this at his home in the town of Greece and everyone brought something edible to share for the brunch. Gary and I both had some maps that Steve could chose from and after flipping a coin, my route was selected. I grew up in the town of Greece and know the back roads well, so we took many quiet residential streets to Greece Canal Park, then onto country roads in and around Spencerport. It was nostalgic for me to be back in my old neighborhood, my friends' neighborhoods, Barnard Carnival grounds and the roads on which I marched with the Barnard Color Guard. We rode a little slower so as not to lose anyone through the many turns in Greece, then picked up the pace in Spencerport. Those who made the ride were Tom, Gene, Erica, the two Steve's, Brian, Kathy, Gary and myself, of course.

I was very happy with this new route with the exception of the use of Latta Rd. and will change that by taking Manitou to Janes Rd to Island Cottage, eliminating this busy road from the ride - Gary's idea-thanks! Incorporating Greece Canal Park was great as it has a restroom and connects with the canal path. The path was not paved, but it was surprisingly smooth with only very fine stone mixed with hard ground. Next time I want to go a little further west of Spencerport to Hinkleyville Rd., adding another mile or two; that would make the ride approximately 31 miles. Hopefully, Steve will not mind hosting this again, as everyone seemed to like the ride.

The brunch was the best part of the morning. Everyone brought something wonderful to share and the back deck was very cozy and comfortable, looking over his well kept, nicely landscaped yard. It was also sunny and warm, but not a hot day. Although I enjoyed everyone's contributions, Gene's homemade cranberry almond scones blew me away. I have awarded him the title of "Scone Master". Thanks for bringing this treat Gene and thanks Steve for having us!

The last Thursday in July

I know I don't have to post all rides, but when I ride alone, I stop more often to take pictures. My eyes follow many roads, trails, streams, trees, fields, flowers and even power lines when I'm traveling along in my journey. Usually power lines detract from the scenery, but this time they caught my eye.

M.I.A.

Hey, I'm back. Just did not have the mind to write in the blog. I have rode the bike 110 miles since last Sunday, so I have a few new things to write about. Last Tuesday's ride started from Powder Mills Park and was very well attended. The fact that it was a beautiful night and the starting location was close by, may have been the reason for such a good turn out. That night started out poorly for me, having almost received a traffic ticket for not stopping completely at a stop sign. I was in a hurry despite the fact that I had plenty of time to get there. Maybe my music was influencing my driving? Anyway, my license has been clean for so long that he let me go - thank you officer and yes, I will chill out on my way to the next ride! So, being mad at myself for this, I chose to punish myself by taking the harder, steeper hill out of the park. My apologies to the group - not that they complained.

The route was new, heading south through Fishers and down to Victor with mostly flat terrain, which is unusual for this area, (maybe I just wasn't feeling the hills - still mad I think). I was feeling a little pressure to ride at a fast pace though, as Steve W. brought his friend Mark with him, a hard-core cyclist and I was one of the few with a map out. I did not want to lose those riding at the end though and did keep them in sight or waited til we regrouped. Mark was nice and offered some suggestions for improving my speed and the performance of the bike. I realized that I might like to have someone professional help me become a better rider and even daydreamed a little about racing in my own age group, ( if that actually exists). It was also interesting to hear about the dynamics of racing and the women who do this. Mark also shared with me that he rides 10,000 miles a year and reaches a top speed of 54 mph on some descents-'did not ask if that ever ended badly!

Back at the park, everyone was in a great mood and the spread of food was incredible. We had some nice healthy selections such as a cous-cous salad, beans and nuts, but also some wonderful desserts. Karen and I were lucky to share a piece of Kathy E.'s excellent blueberry pie... that's fruit, so it must be good for you - it was very good for me!

I forgot to take a picture for this post, so the credit goes to Google Images.