First organized ride of the season

It was a spectacular day for the Tour de Open Space.  The sky was an electric blue color; not passive at all.  The wind was almost non existent and the temperature was on the verge of being just a bit too cold for shorts and short sleeved jersey.  Perfect day for a long ride.

When I had reviewed the maps on line I had misread the elevations thinking that the difficult ride climbed over 6000 feet and the rolling hill ride had over 2000 feet of climbing. I would have been happy with climbing over 2000 feet over the course of 35 miles so I was easily talked into the rolling hills ride. I was off by about four times the actual numbers.  It turns out the the rolling hills were a little less than what I have been using for training. Never the less the rolling hills ride was extraordinary.

The ride was a "start as you go"  and I was on my own so it was hard to know when would be the best time to leave. I tried to stick to the posted start time and I left for my ride at about 10:00 AM. Since I was on my own I kept my music playing in my ears.

A group of about eight riders and me all pull out and onto the road together. As soon as we were on the road, the big ride goes off to the left to start with a large climb, we keep right and stay in the valley next to the Wickecheoke Creek. For next five miles the road is flat and winds along this creek.  

At this point if you look to the left you can see the road that is the first hill of the “big ride” and you can see it start to tower over the creek.  That rise is one of my first big riding challenges.  When I first started to ride that hill was insurmountable without having to get off of my bike and walking.  These days I love to take that path and push over the !  Needless to say I was starting to regret having stayed to the right.

The group I am with are enjoying themselves but they are not forming any lines to increase the speed of the pack.  It is okay with me but since I don’t know anyone I am on my own within the group.  Even still the speed of the group is a good pace and I figure by the end of the ride we might know each other a little better.

As we come to the “T” intersection on this road, the course turns right and we are faced with the first rolling hill of the ride.  I am excited and gobble up the road as quickly as I can.  My legs feel good as they are tested with the first sign of resistance.  The course turns left and as I cross the road I am able to see the group I was with behind me, just inching up the hill.  I have no reason to wait so I press on and look for the next group ahead of me to join.

I suddenly recognize the road as one that I take on my commute to work.  I also know that this road has a good grade on it and we are heading in the uphill direction.  In the mornings when I am traveling in the opposite direction, I can put my  car in neutral and coast down the entire hill, having to use my brakes to keep my speed in check.  It is a decent enough hill and it starts to take its toll on a number of the riders.  Some are moving very slow, some are walking up and other are stopping to catch their breath or wait on their friends.  I enjoy the push and though I can not accelerate up this hill, I am able to get over the top experiencing only a slight dip in my split speed.

We are now very close to where I do my training rides and I start to think how I can piece together some of the roads I have just covered with some of my training rides to open up a new and beautiful ride.  One of the nice things that I notice is the amount of shade that is available and how good that will feel as we start to get into the summer heat of July and August.  

I ride about 22 miles in total before stopping at the rest stop.  This is a little more than half way through the ride and I am feeling great.  The driveway that leads to the rest stop is not very well paved (they almost never are) and it might have been a mistake to have ridden down part way.  

I make a quick stop and start back on what looks to be an empty road.  This part of the trip circles back over some of the same roads and it affords some of the most expansive views of the often underrated New Jersey countryside.  If you were to be dropped into this area and asked what state you are in, I think New Jersey might be your 50th guess.  It is overwhelming.

For the second time of the day I ride past the covered bridge and I start up a small hill that will start me back to the starting point. For the first time all day, I am passed on the hill!  I can not believe this because having skipped the big hill ride,  I have turned this ride into a mission to overcome everyone I encounter on these rolling hills.  I also notice that the bumps in the road are starting to pound a little hard in the seat.  I look down and realize that my back tire is low on air.  It is always strange to me that after 28 miles of riding with seemingly no change I would suddenly be low on air.  

I know I must have a leak but because it is my back tire and I am so close to the end of the ride, I really don’t want to change out the tube.  I figure I would try and pump it up and see if I could limp along for the rest of the ride.  I am able to do this but I have to stop two more times to pump air into the tire before reaching the end of the ride.  Without this issue I could have finished this ride very quickly but I was slowed down by this problem.  Looking back I think I must have picked something up when I went into the rest stop down the gravel road.  

I pulled into the starting area and I could smell lunch cooking for us.  It is amazing how good grilled food smells after a 35 mile ride.  There is a tent set up with amazing food choices.  I have a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich with spinach, olive oil and goat cheese.  I also have some pulled pork and slaw.  I have never had such a good meal at an organized ride before.  

I sit by the waterfalls and take it all in.  Between the food, the exhilaration of the ride, and the sunshine I am peacefully euphoric. I make sure to collect the cue sheets for the “big” ride so that I can do this ride on my own at a later date.  I cannot linger as I have to get home, but I take one more moment to reflect on what a treat this has been to have had the whole morning to myself to do this ride.