Last Sunday I went up to the Trexler Town and did the Bicycling Classic Ride. I have to admit this has quickly become one of my favorite events. We had a nice little group of folks including Gus, Diane, Anne, Beth and Craig. Gus and Anne were celebrating their 19 anniversary this day!
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| Photo Courtesy of Bicycling mag.. |
We set out on the 50 mile route. The course was very well marked and supported. Along the way we saw lots of friends, and had folks ride in and out of our group. That was fun.
About an hour in I started to notice this white mini van that kept popping up along the route. A woman would jump out of the mini van and was snapping pictures. I remember thinking, that it was cool that they were sending folks out not only on motos, but also had photographers moving around.
Half an hour later, I noticed this white mini van on top of one of the KOM/QOM hills. The driver/photographer jumped out of the van and was excitedly taking photos.
Later on top of yet another hill, I would spy the white mini van again. This time, however in addition to the woman driver, I noticed two young children had gotten out of then van as well. Both of the children had made signs that said "go Daddy! you can do it" They held the signs up and cheered as their father passed on. It was then that I put together that the mini van was trailing their father and giving him support! That was one of the most rad things ever.
Our group clawed our way through the initial hills and descended into the valley. The valley is my favorite part of the ride. It is beautiful and the roads are amazing. I sometime recognize that I'm getting older because I recognize and appreciate roadside beauty in a manner I couldn't grasp as a younger man.
Passing through a small town, we got stopped by a train. We gathered and took selfies. The white mini van was there too. As we waited for the train to go by, two kids came bounding out of the back and ran over to hug their father as they chanted, "GO DADDY GO!"
That will be one of the lasting impressions from the ride for me...
The last 15 miles of the ride we drove straight into a nasty headwind. I'll admit I was feeling a bit cracked, but also knew that everyone else was too. Craig and I sat ourselves on the front and pulled into the wind. We kept a good pace and continued to pick riders up along the way. We kept a close eye on our group to make sure everyone was there, but I also realized that our little group of six had grown quite a bit.
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| Just 4 guests in this shot- there were a few more... |
One of the riders we picked up was the man whose family had been driving along in the white mini van following the route and cheering for him.
As we came into the last mile, Craig looked over at me and said, "do you think some of the folks we have been pulling home are going to jump us as we get to the finish? " I smiled and said, " the horse always smells the barn!"
Sure enough, a couple of the group, came around us and rode off the front. Seconds later, the crack in the damn continued as more came around us. As we made our final turn, and headed towards the track, the man whose family had cheered him on finally on came around us. He looked at Craig and I. He looked more exhausted than us. He nodded at us, which I took as a thank you for letting him sit in and then stood and pedaled hard for the finish. His family cheered and held signs as we trailed him into the velodrome finish.
We celebrated battling that stiff wind and making it back as a group.Passing out high fives and sharing stories. The food truck selection and cold frosty beverages were amazing. It was a spectacular day.
thanks for reading.
respect
fatmarc
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