bruce19

Yesterday was the annual Steeple Chase ride out of Windham, CT. It's a fundraiser for local shelters and food banks that is sponsored by inter-faith ministries in the area. My guess is that 300 or more riders participate. My gf and I decided to do the Metric Century ride option. There are also 20, 50, & 100 mile rides. So, we gathered at the start with a dozen other riders from our club led by Ron our usual B ride leader. Ron is an interesting guy. He has just turned 60 and has that 5'9", 140 lb cyclist body. He is a notoriously good climber. Back in the day he was a local racer and for several years owned a LBS. These days he's a rep in the industry for companies like Bianchi and Speedplay, among others. Ron leads a lot of rides and has this natural teacher temperament. So, he often tries to school new riders on things like safety, bike handling, pacelines, etc. He is very pleasant, extremely knowledgeable and direct when confronting riders who refuse to correct bad form when it involves safety. He's fond of saying things like, "People don't know what it's like to ride in a peloton of 150 racers." and "If you're going to ride like that, I won't ride with you." So, yesterday Ron led a group of 13 of us on a B paced Metric. We started out a little faster than usual for which Ron later apologized and slowed the pace. He grouped us at one point and went through the mechanics of doing a paceline taking 20 second pulls. There were several riders who were new to the concept. We got our line going and had mixed results since some did not seem to get the team concept. In any event, at some point we were separated a bit with Ron, a new guy named Dave and I at the front. Ron said he was going to drop back and get the ride together. He told us to just keep going and he said to Dave, "Stay on Bruce. That's a good wheel." At rides' end we had done 62.5 mi. w/3300 ft. of elevation at 15.7 mph. The ride was kind of a mixed bag in that some in the group were new and inconsistent but generally a pleasant bunch. But, for me Ron's compliment (not easily dispensed) was the highlight. It was just a good feeling to know that someone with that base of knowledge acknowledged me as being consistent and predictable.

OldsCOOL

That sounds like a fun day.

Rowan

Brilliant, Bruce.

OldTryGuy

Feels geat having a person you look up to making a positive comment about your riding abilities.

berner

I did not get compliments yesterday but had a very awesome club ride. Some time at the mid-point seven men and one woman came together by happy circumstance for the remainder of the ride. We typically ride at a similar pace and frequently end up riding together but not in a tight pace line. The combination of smooth pavement, minimal auto traffic, mostly shaded roads in an otherwise hot day and the fact that I felt stronger at the end than at the start made it a special ride. At many rides, our club sets up what is referred as a hospitality tent. It is similar to the idea of a tailgate party without alcohol, but other cold drinks and snack foods and watermelon slices. It is pleasant to sit around after a ride amongst like minded people.

bruce19

A group riding with "supplesse" as the French say is a beautiful thing. Well done.

Wheever

bruce19

These are the top three groups that raised money for the Windham Area Inter-faith Ministries:

The Trophy winners are:

Colchester Dental Group $7755
Thread City Cyclist $5377
St. Paul’s Windham Center $2360

My club is Thread City Cyclers (not Cyclist) and we finish second every year to the Colchester Dental Group. At least for the past 10 yrs. So, in total the ride raised at least $15,500. Very cool.


This is our group pic. https://threadcitycyclers.com/

h2oxtc

With that complement I'll ride with you! I also appreciate a group ride leader who insists on discipline in the group. Afterall, it's for everyone's safety. Otherwise I'd just as soon ride alone and live to see another day.