They didn't mean it literally...
So, there's this local bike club which has clever and funny names for their repeating rides. Most of these names incorporate the name of one of the towns on the route. So I decided to go on the July 4th ride, cleverly called Weir Lost. And what did I do? I got lost
!
The ride start was in Round Rock, about 25 minutes from my house. Returning 5 blocks to my apt. to get the directions to the start was only a minor factor in my being the DFL rider out of the parking lot (the ride leader leaves maps on their windshield, thank goodness). One couple left only a few minutes before me, and I figured "no big whoop, I may well catch some people and if I don't, I know how to read a map."
Turns out I don't know how to read a map or a cue sheet
. I went the absolute wrong way 3 separate times for a grand total of about 12 bonus miles!! I originally intended to do the 53 mile loop, but once I finally got to where it left the 30 miler, I saw that the weather in that direction was at best very wet, at worst very dangerous. I opted for the 30 (now 42) mile route. Lo and behold, when I got to where it rejoined the 53 miler, my mileage was exactly what it would have been had I taken the official 53 mile route
! So I finished out the rest of the route. Well, most of the rest of the route. I did miss one little turn near the end, but it was just for about two miles on a little road that just looped around and rejoined the main road, so I'm not counting that one
.
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green