On Saturday, Apr-24, the "Irregulars" were much like horse manure. That is, we were spread thinly all over central and north-central North Carolina. I don't think we were stinking it up, anywhere, though.
One group of six were spreading it north of Raleigh. (The PUE crew.)
One group of six were spreading it about Hanging Rock, Pilot Mtn and Sauartown Mtn. (The Mtn Boys.)
And one group of one was spreading it from Morrisville to Seagrove. (Hey, it's my blog and I can write pretty much what I want.) There was some smelly manure on this ride: two locations on Lindley Mill Rd near Snow Camp, and one location on Coleridge Rd (I think that's where it was) between Siler City and Coleridge.
I received a guest write-up about the PUE crew from the IvaHawk. So ... :
PUE Crew Trip Report - The Three Bob's, Lee, And Then There were Two
I'll have to concede to the Mountain Boys that I overestimated the weather threat and, just based on that, should have gone. However, six of us had quite an adventure today.
The six were Bob H, Bob S, NewBob, LeeD (ride leader), Tito, and me. The plan was to ride up New Light to Pokomoke, left on Gordon Moore, right on hwy 56, and left on Mt Olivet Church. I'm sure you're familiar with the route. The plan was 70 miles.
Once we got on New Light and hit the hills going up to NC 98 and after that, I dropped further and further behind. The rest were riding well. My legs were burning uphill and headwind.
Sometime before we got to Pokomoke, I was swept up by a nice group of people who invited me to sit in. That made it much easier.
They asked me who I rode with. I said the Irregulars with Martin the leader. Most of them either knew you or had heard of you. One of them said, "well you know my ex-husband, Dave". It didn't click right away and she said Dave I. And, said, of course ! Lt Dave.
Once we caught the five, who had slowed down looking for me, and who were surprised to see me with my new friends, we all stayed together.
After the right turn onto Hwy 56, an accident. Bob S ran off the road with a nasty shoulder drop off. He corrected trying to get back but hit the curb and down he went. I was in perfect position to see the whole thing. I'll not soon forget Bob's helmet (with his head in it) skidding across the pavement. If there ever was an advertisement for bicycle safety helmets, that was it.
Bob got up to survey the damage. His left little finger appeared to be broken. But, everything else intact.
After everyone convened and discussed what to do, Bob called his wife to come get him. There was much discussion about what to do. Bob S insisted he was fine and for us to continue. Tito was the most compassionate and lobbied for us to stay.
BobH and NewBob had to be at a baptism and had to leave. So they turned around and left.
Further discussions concluded that Lee go on ahead alone and try to get his 70 while Tito and I would wait some more and go shorter.
Tito and I stayed awhile longer and decided with Bob insisting that we would go on down Mt Olivet about five miles to give us 25 and turn around and go back through the intersection where Bob was to make sure he was gone. He was gone by the time we got back.
We went on down Fred Wilder Rd to Pokomoke Rd and turned right. Then I started to get worried that I had turned the wrong way. We passed the Llama House. I knew we had passed it on our left many times, but I couldn't remember if that was outbound or inbound.
We saw his next door neighbor blowing leaves in his drive way and stopped to ask. We met a delightful man named Wilton or Wilbur and talked to him awhile. He was 85 years old and very interested in our bikes. He confirmed we were on the right path.
We finally made it back to PUE without incident and 55 miles.
We proceeded to Tropical Smoothies where I called Bob and learned that his finger was not broken, but only dislocated ! Great news. He'll be back in the pack before long.
IvaHawk
I received additional information from BobH:
Glad to hear that BobS only had a dislocated finger and a little road rash. It was definitely a scary moment. I remembered checking my rearview mirror and seeing several cars right behind us. I yelled "cars" and Bob S. reiterated that there were cars so that we would not venture from the right side of the road even though our left turn onto Olivet Church Road was ahead. The next sound was the one we all don't want to hear - bike, helmet and body hitting pavement. It took me most of the day to get that sick feeling out of my stomach.
Robert and I reversed our course and headed back to PUE with the only deviation being Ghoston/Peed. The ride back was smooth and fairly quick (must have been the wind at our backs). I asked Robert how he was feeling and he stated he was not sure if the legs were going make it. I told him I wouldn't leave him. We started slowly at about 14-15 mph but were soon cruising along at 19-20 mph and Robert was hanging right there about 20 yards back. On we went for about 5-7 miles before I noticed Robert falling back. I slowed down and he quickly came along side. I asked him how he was doing. His response " You want me to lead so you can draft and rest a while?" At that point I knew he was going to make the trip back home with no issues.
Before we reached New Light I told him about the bad pavement and the 3 hills at the finish, so conserve when you can. I quickly dropped him on New Light but waited at the bottom of Ghoston. From that point Robert was right on my tail all the way to PUE. Looks like we have another rider to add to the team. Congratulations Robert on a strong first ride with the Irregulars.
BobH
I also received a concise summary from Lee:
As for myself, I had an uneventful 71 mile ride. My gearing change allowed me to ride up Tommy Snead hill in the saddle, so I can't wait to see how it does on the 3 Mt ride.
I'll make my comment on Lee getting a gearing change making it easier for him to ride hills here instead of in the comments: Great! His only (almost) weak spot is now going to be yet another strong point. Ugh.
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