I thought I might try to ride 4 or 5 miles before wheels away.
I didn't.
IvaHawk arrived second, about 5:53.
I looked at Iva and at my watch.
Iva commented "I know, I'm early."
Robert and Aggie and BobH arrived in the next couple minutes.
I don't recall the order, but I think Bob may have been last of the three.
Bob was surprised that so many people were there before him.
Snapper arrived around 6:00 or 6:05.
Early for him (relative to wheels-away time).
He asked if my e-mail worked because he sent me an e-mail to find out when it was to be "wheels away."
Turned out he sent it at 9:43 p.m. Friday.
I was no longer connected to the digital world by then.
I'm not sure when Tito arrived.
But at about 6:07-6:10 he walks over to me to tell me:
"Uh, I forgot my bike."
He had driven ~ 40 miles from Efland -- without his bike.
I'm sure the look on my face was at best flabberghasted, at worst, not sympathetic.
What could I do?
Spare water bottle, spare pair of gloves, spare pair of socks, spare jersey. I usually have.
Spare bike. Sorry. I can't help you there.
IvaHawk suggested his Raleigh, his "back-up" bike.
Iva only lives 3+ miles from PUE.
Tito's cleats and the pedals on the Raleigh were not compatible.
Iva mentioned that he had a set of "cages" they could put on the Raleigh.
At least he wouldn't be duct taped to the bike.
Iva and Tito drove to Iva's and prepped the Raleigh.
The rest of us rode leisurely over to Iva's.
Or, more accurately, to Iva's neighborhood.
BobH and I had each ridden past Iva's once, but each of us had faulty memories.
In the end, Iva found us. (We were really, really close.)
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Various rides, various people have:
- forgotten their water bottles,
- forgotten their shoes,
- forgotten their helmet,
- forgotten to check their tyres before getting to the ride,
- forgotten their gloves,
- forgotten their winter gear.
The prize, before today, was Iva forgetting his front wheel.
But the new booby prize goes to Tito: Dude, where's your bike?
If this keeps up, we are going to get a reputation ... .
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As for the ride itself, who cares? Tito came to the ride, but forgot his bike.
The ride was HOT and humid, and I think we all had a pretty good time.
Per Iva's request, we rode our version of "a Mt. Tirzah Tour".
Good climb on Stagville Rd to get up to Bahama.
The Flat Wall from the Flat River up to the plain around Mt. Tirzah was a good test.
But it isn't as tough as the Ruin Wall (wait until next week).
And after having recently ridden through the heart of the Uwharries (me), and Snapper having successfully completed the Assault on Mt. Mitchell, and most of us having made a relatively recent trip to Hanging Rock / Pilot Mtn., the Flat Wall was not that daunting.
Still good climbing. And good scenery, esp. on Moores Mill Rd and Helena-Moriah Rd.
A well-deserved break in Mt. Tirzah.
I could write more, but why?
It would just be dribble about who did what when.
Or who pretty much over-heated and sorta' bonked late in the ride (me).
Thanks to Snapper for slowing and riding in with me.
Thanks to eveyone else for a fun ride on a HOT and humid morning.
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Jun-05:
PUE: Mt. Tirzah Tour, w/ an early "Tour of Wood Valley" thrown in; 79.9 m.; 5hrs, 06min; 15.6 mph.
Q-1 tot: 16 rides; __938.2 m.; _60 hrs, 39 min; 15.5 mph.
Apr tot: 10 rides; __717.9 m.; _45 hrs, 27 min; 15.1 mph.
May tot: 10 rides; __837.2 m.: _58 hrs, 42 min; 14.3 mph.
Jun tot: _1 ride; ____79.9 m.; __5 hrs, 06 min; 15.6 mph.
YTD tot: 37 rides; 2,573.2 m.; 171 hrs, 52 min; 15.0 mph.
Damn! Tito. That takes the biscuit.
ReplyDeleteMallet
Tito despite being on a 56 cm, my Raleigh, toe clips, and tennis shoes was his usual tough self.
ReplyDeleteWe saw Rule #3 in action again today when the peleton missed the turn onto Creech. That added a few miles for most of the riders.
Last part of the ride: Tito, BobH, Askew Agnew, and Iva on Dove Rd. rolling well. As soon as we hit the hills on Old Weaver, Iva is off the back and solo for the remainder of the Old Weaver triple humps, the small bump on New Light, Col de Ghoston, Col de Peed, and MVC. No bike club anywhere has a tougher finish than the Irregulars.
I ended with 77 miles. Tito had 82. The delta being the violation of Rule #3.
I realize that there was a lot of consternation and even astonishment that someone would drive so far so mindlessly as to forget his own bike. And, apparently, bikers forget everything but the bike itself. It would be like a fireman arriving at the fire without his truck. Or the highway patrolman on 40 without his car. Or a astronaut without his spaceship. Or a teenager without protection....
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, all of you should be reminded that I did not forget my car. Or my wallet. Or my driver's license. Andit was early. In fact, Efland, being far to the West of Raleigh (and therefore towards Hawaii) has not had the benefit of morning sun as much as Wake County has. That means that I had to awake long before you, and in more of a total blackout kind of way. Got it?
Furthermore, I did not have a gun with which to shoot myself in the leg.
I would hate to forget my nose since I like breathing out of it. Or my ____________________ because I like ___________________________.
Tito
I don't think there was much consternation. Certainly there was astonishment. Mostly, however, I think there was mostly amusement (and secret thankfulness that "it wasn't me" by much of the crew). And, knowing we had a good sport in the cross-hairs, we didn't tease too much. Maybe because there was nothing that most of us could do to help.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, Mr. Nice Guy and natural leader SpeedyHawk had an extra bike nearby. Otherwise, as I mentioned to Iva at the time, we wouldn't have gotten to see Tito's "I've never met a stranger" personality at work in Stem. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, follow the link on the side-bar to Tito's Galapagos blog.)
Oh, and with the ex-Marine laying down the smack about Rule #3, I could just be amused at that situation.
...M