Outriders post mortem
The ride was great. The weather was as good as it can be. There were 194 registered riders, up from the 130 or so last year. Of the 194, 175 or so showed and rode. Nice increase in turnout. The organizer said that he created a Facebook page for the ride and said that was almost solely responsible for the increase.
The were a couple from California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ontario, Quebec, as well as greater New England.
There were no issues during the ride that I’m aware of. I did see one guy go down. He wasn’t hurt. It was his own fault, plus he was wearing an iPod so I don’t feel terribly sorry for him. The first riders finished around 1:30, the last riders at 7:45. I got in around 4:45. The 7:45 people (hi Paul!) were waylayed by seven(!) flats. How can you have seven flats in one tire? They eventually went to a bike shop and had them change the entire tube and tire.
I also flipped the cyclometer over 10,000 miles to something like 10104. That’s over about 3½ years.
I took the GPS this time too. I’m still not convinced it’s all that useful. It died partway there, so I changed the batteries. Then it died again about 30 miles later. Then I remembered that a good jolt to the thing will move the batteries enough to turn it off. Not quite sure what to do about it.
There was one wrong turn that added about a mile and a half, but it was a nicer ride. I was following a bunch of people and a bunch were following me. Whoever was in front missed the turn and everybody just continued. Someone filling his tank at the gas station yelled out that we were going the wrong way and told us how to get back on route, so that was lucky.
Provincetown isn’t my favorite place, but it’s a fine weekend. The guest house was full for some reason. Every other year it’s been nearly empty. Went out on Sunday night which I probably shouldn’t have done. It really wiped me out the next day. The house mates were generally nice people if a little hyperactive in some cases. I did learn that I loathe southern accents. One guy from somewhere in Texas or something had a Paula Deen accent that drives me to distraction, doubly so when they talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk.
The ride back was uneventful. I’d debated replacing the rear tube and tire before the trip, but decided it would hold well enough for this ride. It did, but it had leaked enough the be pretty flat by Monday. I had enough gas in the pump to get it ridable home after the ferry docked, but it was close. The last thing I’d want to do is change a tire just in order to ride home the final mile.
Notes for next year:
- Pack one more shirt. If I hadn’t gone out, it would have been enough, but as I did, it wasn’t.
- Take an earlier ferry home; there’s one at 10:00 and one at 11:00, no need to wait for 3:00.
- When taking a book, take a paperback.
Also, a tip for those taking a bike on the fast ferry: Take only the Bay State Cruise Company ferry. If you’re not taking a bike, it doesn’t matter which one you take. Bay State ties the bikes up on the bow. Boston Harbor Cruises tie the bikes on the fantail. If the waves kick up, the fantail bikes can get drenched in salt water. If on the bow, they still get sprayed, but not drenched like the other. At least spray tends to stay on the surface and can be easily washed. If drenched, the salt can get into places it’s impossible to get out.
To do before July:
- Replace tires and tubes
- True front wheel
- Remove, clean, and reseat the bottom bracket. It’s developed a strange squeak when under load.
