Roy and crew, nice ride report A couple of weeks ago I rsvp's that I couldn't make it, because a desperate former student/intern/customer/shop volunteer called in need of a speaker for an Earth Day presentation to two congregations at the Columbia Intrfaith Center
I mentioned the CR ride but Earth Day was Earth Day, April 22!
So I agreed
the program was 11-2 and they only needed me for a short talk on commuting and the bike as an alternative to driving. I gathered some props and literature and called CR Jill to do the 'warm up act'since she's been doing a liot of heavy commuting and because I had kid errands and shuttling til 1 I zoomed over at 12:30 and Jill was standing solo on the front steps with tools and a workstand No crowd, just her
turns out Al Yergey was stood up and Jill said he went home to get his bike, and was very sorry and felt way bad for our having to come.
Well, lemonade time I had an old Gitane Cross bike with knobbies in the van, a green cotton tie die jersey purchased the day before from a desperate vendor at the CAM rally for $5, and a display helmet .
We put all the tools and props away, Al came back on his original '84 Bridgestone Tourist, Jill snagged hew Waterford off her car, and we were off. Three complete categories ages 40,50,60 for a 25 mile tour to nowhere
We shared rounds of stories from commuting to why Al doesn't race, although he ran the Bostom Marathon and many others well under 3 hours when 30 years and 30 lb less. Just then we encountered the major Columbia Spring Classic in progress. Hundreds of riders, crews, and spectators.
I looked for someone I knew and was told he was tending to a mishap. Lo and behold, the event I was in last year, the Vets race, had several guys on thre curb and parts of bikes on the road. Lots of road pizzas on thre bodies but nobody in serious life danger, maye a colarbone or bones. Al and I then humphed at each other and said he might try a TT at best.
Old riding friend Bobby Phillips was one of the unfortunates, and I finally noticed his front wheel off the bike, but with two fork blades still attached.
So can we say Roy's ride had 15, just three of us were a hundred miles south on the 'other' route?
Hope everyone had as fine an earth day as we did
Larry