Seven brave souls met in Pulaski Park on Thursday for the first Thursday Night Ride in almost two years. There were a few veterans, a few new folks, and one brave gentleman asking “is this the C+ ride?” We try to keep it casual all the way to Burgy so we encouraged him to give it a go, at least for the first part of the ride. We decided to try out the new pavement on Spring Street so we started off on the regular route. Right before Spring. Chris J. flatted, yelling “go ahead”. Eric W., ignored him and stopped to assist. The rest of us pressed on. (Note to self: I should have made the flat policy explicit at the start of the ride. I like Don’s “1 flat” rule.)
The remaining group of 5 stayed together all the way to Williamsburg, but wait… Joe L. subbed in for our C+ rider!? So we had five, but we had actually lost one. Grrrr…
After a quick look at the weather (there were t-storms expected), Tom and Sam led the charge up the hill with a gentle approach that managed to keep the group together for at least half of the effort at which point, Sam, Tom, and Scott left me and Joe to press on as best we could. Joe and I stayed together all the way to the top. It really is nice to have company on that climb.
A short regroup in Ashfield and we pressed on to Conway with Tom on his 1x gravel bike spinning at 110 as best he could. Another short climb, regroup, and a spirited return to Northampton, keeping the whole group together despite the big efforts by all at the three town lines. And North Farms Road!! It’s paved! What a treat!
Until next week…
