This time, it was filled with something other than dirty shorts.
Yesterday was my club's annual New Hope. PA to Brooklyn ride. 93 miles. It was incredible humid but mostly overcast. Mostly. Forecast called for 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms. They would not be everywhere, but if they hit they could be very bad. That sort of forecast is very motivation. My small group of 4 hit the road at 7:13 a.m. We kept stops to a minimum. Those that we did make we tried to keep shorter than normal. No one wanted to be caught in a thunderstorm somewhere open like the middle of the Port of Elizabeth & Newark. I refused to look at a clock until we got the ferry terminal in Hoboken. It was just after 2:30. I was shocked. We were about 1 hr. ahead of the usual schedule. Computer showed an average of 14.2 mph, which is pretty good considering we had many sections of slow, urban riding. We finished the final 6 miles (after the ferry ride, slow trip down the Hudson bike path and over the Brooklyn Bridge) and were in by 3:10. Never felt one drop of rain like some others behind us.
What surprised me the most is what how little I consumed during the ride. Breakfast was coffee, a multigrain bagel with white bean spread and fresh tomato slices. The only other solid food I consumer was a small roast beef sandwich at mile 42. The rest of my intake was comprised of one bottle of Perpretuem, a couple bottles of Coke and 7 Hammer Gels.
The exigencies of the day made stops for photographs ill-advised. I did manage to snap a few closer to the end while moving and pose for one atop the Brooklyn Bridge. The only thing that sucks is that we have to wait until next year to do it again.
