I am a little late for this party, but as the only other 50+ member having participated in this 50+ meet up, I feel it is my duty to add my perspective of the trip, if only to testify to the Roadwarriorness of Blues Dawg and Jim from Boston.
I came with my husband Tom, my sister Laurie, and her beau Felix to Raystown. It was the first time Laurie and Felix had attended a cycling event like this, and I am certain I won’t have any difficulty talking them into another one. We all had a great time. The resort and surrounding areas are truly beautiful. Moreover, there were a lot of activities offered at the resort. My group took a steamboat ride on the lake on Sunday.
Jim and I have both previously posted that an organized weekend event like this one may be the best way to plan a 50+ meet-up/group ride. I hold to that belief. This event featured accommodations from camping, to cottages and cabins and even a motel on the premises making it easy for participants to gather before and after the rides to plan and socialize. Additionally, the event offered a number of different rides enabling riders of varying skill levels to participate in rides in which they would feel comfortable.
Jim and Blues Dawg rode the 61 mile ride. Blues Dawg had some great photos, but it is really hard to capture “grade.” I bow to them. Those two are some serious cyclists.
On the other hand, there was my group. We planned to do the 31 mile ride in Raystown. Let me preface this. About a month before this trip, my group had taken a 35 mile Tour de Farms ride together after which, we jointly persuaded my sister she had no choice but to trade her box-store hybrid in for a road bike before this trip. Through some delays in shipping, she didn’t receive her road bike until a week before the Raystown event. Well, we all know how that would pan out.
Secondly, because of other duties, none us got to spend as much time on the bikes as we should have before a cycling trip to the mountains. Furthermore, we are from South Jersey. It’s blueberry bogs and beach. I consider my driveway a hill, but I can still set a picnic table up for dinner on it and the iced tea is level in the glass. I had no idea. My eyes began twitching when I realized I’d probably have to walk my bike up the hill that was
the road into the resort.
However, we still agreed on tackling the 31 mile ride. Before we left, we had a lovely breakfast at the Marina Cafe. This is my sister and I right before the ride:
We were just getting our legs and feeling giddy and had just hit the five mile point when we encountered some other cyclists who smiled and called out, “Good Morning,” to which my husband responded, “PHHHHHTTTT.” Actually it was his tire that responded:
It turned out not to be his tube, but his tire. Apparently, he had run over a shard of granite and cut the sidewall. We needed to call SAG. The man came out and was able to cleverly repair the hole with some rim tape, but strongly suggested we limit ourselves to the 14 mile ride.
I wasn’t going to argue, especially based on my sister’s lack of “butt time” on a road saddle, my husband’s propensity for bike drama on 50+ trips,(See prior 50+ ride reports), and my anxiety about those hills. So, basically, we drove 420 miles to cycle 14.
Regardless, this was a great trip. I always enjoy spending time with Jim; we always have a good time with him. I was thrilled to meet BluesDawg. I really enjoyed his company. He’s got that same bit of snark in him in person, but is also very warm and funny. Additionally, his wife, (and I don’t mention her name here only because he never does) is a lovely, interesting, and charming lady.
My only regret on this trip is that, had I known we would be the apres-ride host house, I would have prepared better snacks!! Next time.
