Well what a DAY we had! Today was preceded by 3 days of wildly dueling forecasts, which all turned out to be TRUE. We had a great, successful ride that was damp at times, a challenge for some (Ellen somehow did the whole ride without benefit of Di2 which had conked out on her -- BEAST!), another rider had a pesky flat that needed a $1 bill to allow him to limp back to the start. The rain came and went but was never soaking.
49/86 riders and volunteers braved the mist and were rewarded by the stunning rides that were fine tuned this year by Steve P. As some chose to skip a rest stop, some changed their milage mid-sprinkle, and two got lost and made their own great ride, it was tough to keep a tally of who was where.
The rest stops were well stocked (anyone interested in any peanut butter crackers? Anyone?) with snacks and water that the riders appreciated.
And, of course, as the last riders rode down the road toward the Pavilion, the sun came out and the sky turned blue.
EVERYONE was valuable today. Most thanks go to the riders who braved the weather. Thanks to the wonderful ,selfless volunteers who served their friends and their cycling community. Thanks to the sign makers (ok that would be me), the sign installers (Joan and Ellen) and the sign PICKER UPPERS (Nancy and Richard). Thanks to Randy and Jackie for the major schlep back to the storage facility. And thanks to Joan O., who had not signed up for this duty, but did more than a lion's (lionesses?) share of the organizational and logistics work. Jane and Jim are both in healing mode, and rendered invaluable sage advice to us.
Huge thanks as well to the volunteers who stepped up and ran the rest stops - the ride would be impossible without them: Lou Dall'orso, Larry Poole, George Martin, Diane Harris, Rita Zeidner, Harold Datz and Carl Hattery.
Onward!
