June rides....hopefully a pleasant month of weather and rides for all

[Crankin]

24.4 mile ride recovery ride, with my friend. I stayed behind her for half the ride, to make myself go slowly. It's hot, so we stuck to familiar, shady spots in Acton and Stow. I did go ahead near the end. Then, we figured out I would be about 3/4 of a mile short of my 1K mile goal when we got back to her house, so she led me through some streets that connect back to hers. It ended up being about 1.5 miles more than I needed. My friend was fading, so I told her she got the friend of the year award! We came back a different way than normally, and there is a very short and steep hill right before her street. She was so hot and tired, she had to walk. I made my goal, and later she and her DH came over to bring DH ice cream, to aid in his clavicle recovery.

[Jolt]

I had a nice weekend of riding and local food on an AMC trip based out of the leaders' house near Auburn, ME. Friday night we did a short 13-mile ride followed by lobster, corn on the cob and potatoes, with gelato and fresh berries for dessert and a bonfire after. Yesterday was almost 30 miles, starting at the Brunswick farmers' market (where we picked out mussels, fresh pasta, bread and salad fixings for that night's dinner) and stopping for lunch in Freeport. We also had to stop at the LL Bean bike shop because I managed to lose a screw from my front fender just as we got into town...we were riding along and I started hearing something rattling, tried adjusting my front shifter thinking the drivetrain was the source of the noise, then figured out at a stop that it was the fender stay not being attached to the eyelet. I wrapped one of my velcro pant straps around it to semi-attach it to the fork and keep it from getting into the spokes and then got a screw when we stopped. Nobody else had any mechanicals fortunately. Today we rode to an organic farm for brunch and then back to the house, getting in another almost 30 miles...it was HOT today and it felt great to jump in the pool when we got back. I was by far the youngest person in the group; the oldest was 77 (!) and she still leads hikes etc.--now that's what I call aging gracefully!