By Michael Bello
Published 05/28/2022; Updated 05/28/2022

With the anticipated poor weather this morning, several of us decided to ride on Zwift. We had four riders (Dan, Melissa, Tim D, and me) for the Out and Back route in Watopia.

The outdoor Saturday Morning C ride was cancelled last night. We all thought the B riders were very optimistic to proceed this morning. It turns out that Joe, who was subbing for Tim C, decided to cancel the ride. Unfortunately, his e-mail to cancel the ride never went through. Joe drove to Pulaski Park to ensure that no B riders were stranded. Henry W was the sole rider present. He decided to brave the elements and took off for the Bookmill following the Wednesday Night route. Henry realized on his way that he was not 100% familiar with the route, but he had fun nonetheless.

Our four riders had different pacing strategies this morning. Tim went fast and gained a solid lead upon the rest of us early in the ride. I’ve been battling a sore hamstring after a my first time lifting in a while the other day, so I was going for the relaxed pace.

Melissa shared that her cycling fame is well known throughout the Pioneer Valley. As she introduced herself to an injured rider the other day, the rider knew of her cycling speed. Tim and I can only hope to be that famous one day!

Everyone is planning a quiet Memorial Day weekend. If anyone is planning to ride outside tomorrow, do be aware that the Hatfield Memorial Day parade is at 12:30 PM. Many of the roads through town will be closed starting at noon. The event includes a military flyover and the Melha Shriners will be performing.

We compared notes about recent outdoor rides. Tim and I encouraged Melissa to check out BestBikeSplit.com, which may be able to help her to plan a pace for events like Crank the Kanc.

In total, we went 30 miles with 1,115 feet of climbing. I was the slowest rider, completing it in a leisurely 1 hour and 47 minutes.

Let’s hope for nice weather for Sunday and Monday!