John E

Our senior pastor (encinitaschurch.com), our associate pastor and her husband, and our recently retired Bishop and her husband are avid cyclists. (Our previous senior pastor, a passionate hiker, used to lead hikes, including an annual assault on Half Dome in Yosemite. His filing cabinet drawer labeled "The Holy Land" was full of pictures and information on our national park system, particularly Yosemite and the Pacific Crest Trail.)

Yesterday our pastor led about a dozen of us, including five in the 50+ age category, on a 25-mile ride on Pacific Coast Highway 101 between Encinitas Bl. and the Oceanside Pier. A few folks showed up on mountain bikes and got intimidated when they saw my Bianchi and my friend's 1993 Colnago Master. Just as we were reassuring them that they would be fine against a couple of 60+ guys on old Italian bikes, Reverend Mark showed up in full racing kit on his carbon Wilier Triestina, and we had to assure them they would also be fine against a 40-year-old guy on a new Italian bike.

We had an unexpected tortoise and hare scenario when Mark got a puncture and the replacement innertube refused to inflate fully on either his CO2 cartridges or my trusty old Zefal HP-X frame pump. The members of what had been a 4-man breakaway stayed back to fix the flat, finally by using a Schraeder adapter with a Schraeder pump head -- great trick to remember next time a Presta valve stem just won't seal tightly -- and the mountain bike crowd had to wait for us at the next checkpoint.

Along the route we encountered the coastal cities' efforts to become more bike and ped friendly. I showed the gang the new sharrows and bike lanes through the Old Encinitas and Leucadia districts of Encinitas, and we discovered that Carlsbad Village now has two Denver-style pedestrian scramble (diagonal crossing) intersections. The weather was my favorite -- "June gloom," heavy overcast, low 60s.

Daspydyr 

Good report John. Biking is already a spiritual event (IMO). Good to have the church leaders taking a group. REV. Mark certainly knows good bikes. Wilier is on my wish list. I've been tempted to list something on our church website about a ride. Its always good to see people outside of the services.

Sounds like you know your part of the riding world pretty well. That is always a plus when you ride with new people, learning new routes.

az_cyclist

Nice ride report John. Last fall a rider joined our ride to South Mountain (a park in south Phoenix). We finished the ride and I saw the name of his church on a window sticker. When I asked he said he was the senior pastor. He normally rode with another club in NW Phoenix, and I saw him on another ride since.

tim24k

Sounds like a great ride.

zonatandem

Would prayer have fixed that flat?

volosong

I think it is pretty awesome. I wish our church did something like that. Once a year, our church holds a Jazz Festival/BBQ/fundraiser for the church school where they conduct a raffle for either a new Honda Civic or a Harley-Davidson whatchamacallit. Last year, I rode the bike with my full kit to the event. Felt pretty out of place and conspicuous. Looks like the Rev is a hiker too, so maybe the assault on Half Dome will continue.

qcpmsame 

John, that is fantastic, I wish our wonderful priest was a cyclist (Holy Cross Episcopal, Pensacola, FL) that would be great to have group rides with the other parishioners. As far as I know Monica and I are the only cyclist right now. Sounds like the ride went well, his ride as well as your usual C&V mounts needn't scare the others they would reassure me that you were experienced. Great report too.

Rudy, prayer would/has certainly calmed me to fix a flat from a rock cut at speed instead of getting angry and frustrated about the misfortune. To each their own way and, I'll support you or stop and help you fix it no matter what you do.

Bill

Doug64

You brought back a memory of when I was a kid

There was a group of us riding bikes with our parish priest. Everything was going fine until I managed to get hit by a car. I was just scratched up with no serious injuries.

When I was telling my tale to my parents, my mother remarked with a twinkle in her eye , "well, if you would have needed Last Rites, Father was right there." She had 5 boys, and getting in a minor scrape with a car came with the territory.

John E

I checked out the Wilier website after the ride and discovered the marque has a history almost as venerable as "Ed White's" (Edoardo Bianchi). (Bianchi is the oldest bicycle company currently in business. At 83 years, Capo of Vienna is a bit behind. I wanted to bring the Capo, which is older than most of the riders, but I am replacing a broken Campagnolo rear axle.)

Daspydyr 

Was that sticker the CCV? Pastor Don?

Rick@OCRR

This reminds me of the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour (which I've ridden 3 times). Please see photo of the Vicar blessing the bikes before the Official Start. His alternate names/titles: The Quicker Vicar, The Faster Pastor or The Pedal-file Priest. Click Photo to Enlarge.
Here is a like to the Tour: https://www.3speedtour.com/

Rick / OCRR

John E

Great names. Until she retired last year, the Rev. Mary Ann Swenson, who often bicycled to work, was called "The Bicycling Bishop."

Bob Nichols

I sold my old bike to my pastor. Actually I gave it to him if he would make a $200 donation to Reelfoot Rural Ministry.

Blues Frog

I can tell you I stay more calm if I use prayer. I ran a toy shop once and the offenders watched me closely when I struck my thumb hard. I didn't cuss and one of them observed that it doesn't hurt as much when you don't yell and cuss. He's right. I haven't always made the right decisions, but that one was ok. Prayer works for me.

Shp4man

Well, I'm an agnostic, but never shy away from a lively religious discussion. As long as it remains somewhat civil.

Dudelsack 

Of course it would have.

It goes like this: God of the Universe, would you watch over me and my fellow riders on this trip? And would you bring to mind any oversight of mine before this trip begins? What, I left my saddle bag with the CO2 cartridges and the spare tire in the car? Thank you for reminding me! Any chance we might pass a Dairy Queen on this journey? Never mind, you have must more pressing things on the agenda. I'm grateful for the reminder about the saddle bag. Praise to the one who spoke through a jackass (Numbers 22:28). The irony is not lost on us.