cycling.finial.com

25th Anniversary Outriders ride

It was great.

Made it to Provincetown at about 5:00 after leaving Boston at 6:15. Not bad for 130 miles considering my (non)condition and lack of preparation. Took a 15-20 minute break at the 3d rest stop which helped immensely. The only thing hassling me is my lower back which is protesting being bent over for 11 hours. Beautiful weather! Watching the forecast all week, I was convinced we’d be riding in a downpour. But the only dodgy weather was some very heavy fog in the Dorchester marshes. Heavy enough to start dripping from your helmet after a while. Once on the Cape the sun even came out! And I got a wee bit burned, having not put on any sunscreen, expecting to ride with a jacket through the rain as I did.

The ride was really well attended. There were 257 registered which is almost 100 more than last year. My guess is that it was a combination of being the 25th (although there were 115  first time riders) and the economy. People are vacationing closer to home.

The organizer, Dan, deserved a huge thank you. Few rides are as well organized and run so smoothly. So well organized and smooth that Dan actually rides the ride. When was the last time you saw that? It’s a testament to his ability. Well done. The sad thing is that he’s done it 10 years and this was his last. It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

Ran into many people I’d met from the ride in previous years. Nina (who usually volunteers) was riding. I’ve known her since Wang days.  Also ran into Maria from the NEC at the brunch on Sunday. I had dinner at the Lobster Pot with her and a friend of hers, Cheryl, from NYC (steamers and lobster roll! MMmmm MMmmm).  Joe and Rene were at the guest house again, as were Neil and Dean.

The guest house was about half full. The owners were there, I hadn’t met them before.  They’re from New Jersey near Phila. I talked with the manager a bit and he said that business was down all over town. Many places are relaxing or eliminating their minimum stay requirements and people are booking way later than before.

The storm out in the ocean really threw a wrench into things. The town seemed nearly empty and it was cold. I underpacked. First time that’s happened. Bought an extra shirt at the Army-Navy.  Had a so-so meal at the Mayflower, and a nice cod in parchment at Bubalas. Otherwise, spent most of the time watching it rain.

Dist: 129.07
Time: 9:12:16
Avg: 14.02
Max: 35.63

Other stats:
Riders registered: 257
Oldest rider: 77
1st time riders: 115
Furthest traveled: CA,FL,MN
Canadians: 31
Men/women: 50%/50%
Earliest finisher: 1:30pm

Already wrote about the trip back. Pretty uneventful. The rain held off just long enough to let me ride home from the dock in Southie. But as soon as I got home it poured and rained for the rest of the night.

Now I have to go back to work. :<

A++++ would ride again.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Rides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.