Hi All,
For the month of April the only organized ride we participated in was "Party Pardee" on April 5Th , which is sponsored by the Sacramento Bike Hikers and begins in the foothill town of Ione. Six of us made the trip on what turned out to be a perfect day for cycling. Four of us were veteran "Pardee" riders with only two of our group being first timers . Under a clear starlit sky we left Pleasant Hill at 4:45am with tired eyes and coffee in hand. Jeff gets kudos for being on time to load our bikes. He had to drive 30 minutes to reach my house, which means he left his house by 4:15am. The drive to Ione took only 1:45 min, which somehow always amazes me. You would think as many times as I've been to this ride I 'd have a better recollection of how long it takes to get there. In any case ,we were so early in our arrival, that even after we readied our bikes ,we had to wait in line to complete the rider registration.
We started riding promptly at 7am . The first few miles we stayed together , taking our time to warm up on our way to the first rest stop. Steve had some mechanical trouble early on , and unfortunately for him, it would only get worse as the day wore on. When we reached the first rest stop most of us waited on Steve, just to be sure his mechanical troubles were under control. Well, like I said, most of us waited....... Big Kev. just kept on rollin down the highway. For some strange reason Kevin is much leaner and faster this year. So far this year he has dished out all the pain on our weekend rides ,and today didn't look as if it would be any different. As soon as Steve's' bike was in good working order the race was on ,and we left in pursuit of Kevin.
For the month of April the only organized ride we participated in was "Party Pardee" on April 5Th , which is sponsored by the Sacramento Bike Hikers and begins in the foothill town of Ione. Six of us made the trip on what turned out to be a perfect day for cycling. Four of us were veteran "Pardee" riders with only two of our group being first timers . Under a clear starlit sky we left Pleasant Hill at 4:45am with tired eyes and coffee in hand. Jeff gets kudos for being on time to load our bikes. He had to drive 30 minutes to reach my house, which means he left his house by 4:15am. The drive to Ione took only 1:45 min, which somehow always amazes me. You would think as many times as I've been to this ride I 'd have a better recollection of how long it takes to get there. In any case ,we were so early in our arrival, that even after we readied our bikes ,we had to wait in line to complete the rider registration.
We started riding promptly at 7am . The first few miles we stayed together , taking our time to warm up on our way to the first rest stop. Steve had some mechanical trouble early on , and unfortunately for him, it would only get worse as the day wore on. When we reached the first rest stop most of us waited on Steve, just to be sure his mechanical troubles were under control. Well, like I said, most of us waited....... Big Kev. just kept on rollin down the highway. For some strange reason Kevin is much leaner and faster this year. So far this year he has dished out all the pain on our weekend rides ,and today didn't look as if it would be any different. As soon as Steve's' bike was in good working order the race was on ,and we left in pursuit of Kevin.
The next fifteen miles passed quickly as Vince and I pulled away from the others to give chase to Kevin. We caught onto the wheel of a large pace line about seven miles from the second rest stop, and while riding with them we cruised along at 25-30 mph or so .
We thought we covered the distance pretty fast, but when we reached the second rest stop , Kevin was not in sight. That could only mean one thing. Kevin was putting down the hammer , and would finish the ride miles in front of everyone else. The first one back to the car would get to have the lions share of the " post ride refreshments ". Well, that wasn't going to happen without making him work for it. Vince was out of water and had to stop. I had enough to make it to the lunch stop,so the chase continued. I rode as hard as I could , and I was sure I could catch Kevin on the climb up the reservoir. I kept watching in the distance as I approached the reservoir,but Kevin was nowhere in sight. Once I made it to the top of the hill without catching him, I gave up trying. I was all used up, so I took it easy to the lunch stop where I waited to re-group with Vince and the gang.
While waiting for Vince and all, guess who rode in a few minutes behind me ? You guessed it. Kevin had been at the second rest stop when I rode by, I just didn't see him or his bike. He was laughing big time about me trying to catch up ,while he was riding with the group behind me all along.
We had a bit to eat at the lunch stop , re-grouped, and continued in to the finish 17miles away. The lunch was good ,but nothing out of the ordinary. What was very good though, was the live band. Every year the Bike Hikers have a live band that plays music you can dance to. Even if you don't dance , it's fun to watch everyone else. We picnic ed, drank our post ride refreshments ,and watched the band while we waited for Steve to show up. After an hour or so Steve rode in under his own power, and that's when we found out who the toughest rider was. While Steve fell off the back a bit, he continued to have mechanical troubles. After we separated at the first rest stop, Steve rode on to have 5 ( count-em on your fingers) flat tires . He replaced his tube twice, and patched it three times. He was offered a ride by sag support twice ,and declined the ride. We were all very glad we didn't drink all the post ride refreshments. If anyone ever needed refreshment it was Steve.
I will be missing WCC this year , but hope to ride Grizzly Peak in May. With a little luck , We'll see you out there....... Milt
While waiting for Vince and all, guess who rode in a few minutes behind me ? You guessed it. Kevin had been at the second rest stop when I rode by, I just didn't see him or his bike. He was laughing big time about me trying to catch up ,while he was riding with the group behind me all along.
We had a bit to eat at the lunch stop , re-grouped, and continued in to the finish 17miles away. The lunch was good ,but nothing out of the ordinary. What was very good though, was the live band. Every year the Bike Hikers have a live band that plays music you can dance to. Even if you don't dance , it's fun to watch everyone else. We picnic ed, drank our post ride refreshments ,and watched the band while we waited for Steve to show up. After an hour or so Steve rode in under his own power, and that's when we found out who the toughest rider was. While Steve fell off the back a bit, he continued to have mechanical troubles. After we separated at the first rest stop, Steve rode on to have 5 ( count-em on your fingers) flat tires . He replaced his tube twice, and patched it three times. He was offered a ride by sag support twice ,and declined the ride. We were all very glad we didn't drink all the post ride refreshments. If anyone ever needed refreshment it was Steve.
I will be missing WCC this year , but hope to ride Grizzly Peak in May. With a little luck , We'll see you out there....... Milt
