August 9th Rides (Sunday)

[KathiCville]

My ride isn't technically an August 9 ride; more like late on August 8. Last night, my BF, a friend of his, and I joined about 1000 other cyclists in the first Moonlight Ride through Richmond, Virginia.

Perfect evening to be out and about on a bike. The day's heat had faded to a great temperature for riding. We rolled out of Sports Backers Stadium en masse at 8 pm. Probably half of us did the full 17-mile route through the city; the other half did the 8-miler. Some people wore costumes or tricked out their bikes. Probably 150 of the riders were kids, accompanied by parents.

I thought everything was very well-organized, particularly for a first-time event. The most impressive part was the presence of police at every intersection of the route, holding back vehicular traffic as we poured down the streets. Everybody was super-polite, cheerful and mostly very careful. I loved the sea of bike headlights and tail lights stretching as far as the eye could see! We even had some people standing on the sidewalks and median strips cheering us on.

GREAT fun! Can't wait to do it again next year!

[Miranda]

Yep... it was a hot and windy day here in the midwest as posted prior.

Day 2 of my club's tour ride.

Temp 92 degree F with heat index 101 degrees F, wind speed 19mph w/gusts 24mph. More climbing on today's route too.

Completed 47mi loop as planned--yippie.

[denda]

17 miles. Light winds, mid 90's. This was the first time I had been back on the bike since we went backpacking. It seems to take my legs longer to get over those long hikes than it used to!

[7rider]

I find it amazing that a single ride can bring a thousand stories.
A friend and I were chatting about that as I finished today's shop ride. 36 hot, steamy miles, and so much can happen in that brief time.
I won't bore you with them - some are good, some are not so good. Some of the characters played to their type, and some surprised.
But is always interesting.
I love our group rides.....

[pfunk12]

Oh, do tell...do tell! Do I know these characters?

I did 25 miles today. Second time on the bike since my crash last Saturday. the crash that I did not report on TE because it's still making me cringe.

I find it amazing that a single ride can bring a thousand stories.
A friend and I were chatting about that as I finished today's shop ride. 36 hot, steamy miles, and so much can happen in that brief time.
I won't bore you with them - some are good, some are not so good. Some of the characters played to their type, and some surprised.
But is always interesting.
I love our group rides.....

[7rider]

Oh, do tell...do tell! Do I know these characters?

I did 25 miles today. Second time on the bike since my crash last Saturday. the crash that I did not report on TE because it's still making me cringe.

Your crash still makes US cringe!!! Ouchie.
- Just past Manor Care, approaching Jones Bridge, some guy on an Orbea (who was spooky and making folks nervous the whole ride), failed to unclip at a light (yes, they were all stopped), tipped over and took out this guy Jeff, who tipped over and crashed into Pam, who went down on her elbow. Jeff sliced open his forearm down to the bone on Pam's crank and an ambulance had to be called. Poor Jeff was just getting back into riding since a MAJOR accident where a car took him out on his bike commute to work. All he kept saying (so I heard) was "She's going to take the bike away from me!" - "She" being his long-suffering wife who had checked him out of one too many hospital visits.
- Mike was riding his new Seven Triad. SCHWEEEET. You gotta see the paint job. It is pretty hot.
- Erica's been giving me some smack-talk, telling me her only goal is to beat my time on the bike at the Iron Girl triathalon on the 23rd. Hmmmm...I smell a challenge there!
- Tom hit 45 mph leading out Aziz on the sprint. I can only imagine what Aziz hit.
- I got tangled up with a guy on a flat bar bike who joined on with the group after the N2 start, heading toward E/W Hwy. I guess he had to show the group that strong riders don't always ride fancy road bikes and wear matching kits. I was passing him on a hill by Manor Care (that was a hazardous place today), and he swerved out into me, trying to avoid something. The two of us rode for a bit, shoulders/elbows/handlebars/hands all tangled up. The bar ends on his bike smashed my fingers into my hoods.
- Folks were asking for you. Hope you're doing better...

[pfunk12]

Oh, wow! I am soooo glad I don't have the courage yet to do a group ride! So sorry to hear about all the mishaps (including your fiasco!). I might see you next weekend if I continue to feel good this week.

Your crash still makes US cringe!!! Ouchie.
- Just past Manor Care, approaching Jones Bridge, some guy on an Orbea (who was spooky and making folks nervous the whole ride), failed to unclip at a light (yes, they were all stopped), tipped over and took out this guy Jeff, who tipped over and crashed into Pam, who went down on her elbow. Jeff sliced open his forearm down to the bone on Pam's crank and an ambulance had to be called. Poor Jeff was just getting back into riding since a MAJOR accident where a car took him out on his bike commute to work. All he kept saying (so I heard) was "She's going to take the bike away from me!" - "She" being his long-suffering wife who had checked him out of one too many hospital visits.
- Mike was riding his new Seven Triad. SCHWEEEET. You gotta see the paint job. It is pretty hot.
- Erica's been giving me some smack-talk, telling me her only goal is to beat my time on the bike at the Iron Girl triathalon on the 23rd. Hmmmm...I smell a challenge there!
- Tom hit 45 mph leading out Aziz on the sprint. I can only imagine what Aziz hit.
- I got tangled up with a guy on a flat bar bike who joined on with the group after the N2 start, heading toward E/W Hwy. I guess he had to show the group that strong riders don't always ride fancy road bikes and wear matching kits. I was passing him on a hill by Manor Care (that was a hazardous place today), and he swerved out into me, trying to avoid something. The two of us rode for a bit, shoulders/elbows/handlebars/hands all tangled up. The bar ends on his bike smashed my fingers into my hoods.
- Folks were asking for you. Hope you're doing better...