by Joseph Lellman » Sat Jun 20, 2015 8:39 am
The inaugural edition of Friday Night Lights is in the book, and it was a rousing success, to say the least. Beautiful weather and a smooth and fast loop out of town, down Bay Road, to Warren Wright Road, and home on the Rail Trail made for an enthusiastic crowd. Word of this unusual, exciting ride format leaked out on social media and quickly went viral. A hard cap on the number of participants was instituted at the last minute (apologies to those who didn’t make the cut). Several of the regional news outlets and TV stations were on hand to cover the event.
The group left the Academy just after 8:30, adorned with lights and reflectors. Through downtown, over the Coolidge Bridge, and down Bay Road in the cool summer air the group cruised along. The joy of cycling was pure and unfettered. At the top of Elf Hill a multitude of heavenly hosts was heard singing Alleluia! The downhill on Warren Wright was blissful as a thin sliver of crescent moon rose over the trees to our left, with two large planets hovering just above. The rail trail home was a great opportunity to hasten the pace. Denizens of the night including bats, frogs, porcupines and moths were out and about. The ride was around 25 miles, and took about an hour and a half.
The afterparty was reminiscent of Studio 54 in the ’80s. Libations, cookies, ice cream, dancing girls, and apple on a stick were just a few of the specialties of the house available to the participants. Did I mention skinny dipping? Next year, we’ll probably do it as a fund raiser- we’ll probably be able to cure cancer, the common cold, and a malady that is near and dear to my heart, the dreaded Bashful Bladder Syndrome.
