August 12th and 13th Ride Recaps

Aug. 12th Saturday MTB Ride Recap:
Saturday MTB Ride: Left at 8:30 from the Sparano’s house. Ernest, Carolyn and Steve S. met and rode the Umstead State Park roads. We had some very light drizzle but nothing to affect our ride. We did the loop counter-clockwise and added the extra lake do-loop as well as a little bonus: Ernest and I turned left at the 2nd Cedar Ridge left turn and ended up back on the main road, turned left onto the main road and re-rode that portion to add a little extra mileage. It ended up being a great ride, nice cool fall weather…in August.

Editor’s Note: This recap will be much shorter than normal since the ride leader (me) did not exactly “lead” the ride and besides, I don’t possess Kevin’s gift of gab or as other would say, diarrhea of the mouth. ; )

August 13th Sunday Road Ride Recap:
Riders:
Steve “The Hammer” (Cope)
John “I was first to the bottom of the hill, take that” Majikes (more on that later…)
David “Don’t Make me open this can of whoop ass” Bridenbaugh
Bryan “Are there any bigger hills, these seem small?”
Andy “Do we go left or right here?”
Coach “I have two gears, Big and Giant” (Dotson)
Steve “It’s a CLASSIC” (Sparano)
Carolyn “I’m never following Jae again into traffic” (Sparano)
Jae “Was that my fault?” Brainard
And Beth and her husband who joined up with the Smell the Roses team early in their ride.

The group assembled at about 7:15 and was met with some cool morning temperatures that prompted the emergence of “arm-warmers” and undershirts – unheard of in August in NC.

It was a great morning and we all thought the ride would be an uneventful one. Well, it started uneventful enough, that is, until Cope (The Hammer), frustrated that his arch nemesis (Kevin Smit) was not present, walked up to the first stranger he saw at Bruegger’s and punched them in the mouth and knocked their tooth out. With that out of his system Cope now felt relieved and back on his game and was ready to ride. The rest of the riders could now relax knowing that they would not be on the receiving end, and so we all headed out. (Remember no embellishment or non-truths are allowed.)

We headed up into the Preston neighborhoods, and out west toward Upchuck hill. That’s when it all went downhill, figuratively and literally. Cope surged out front on the initial descent and turned around and looked for a challenger. No one seemed to want to take him on. Then he let everyone know that Kevin had put up $10 to the first rider to win the first challenge (given that Kevin was not on the ride, there were suggestions that Kevin should put up more to make it more interesting, like $20 , which the group quickly agreed to). Most of the group, who were still waking up weren’t sure what to make of this brazen challenge…all but one. Majikes struck out from the middle of pack like man possessed and caught and passed Steve Cope raising his arms in victory for taking on a strong rider and beating him….to the bottom of the hill. It was at the bottom of the hill that Cope yelled out, “Kevin’s paying $20 for the first one to the top of the hill, not the bottom”. Majikes still believes he needs to collect from Kevin. All debts must be settled before next ride.

After Majikes finished cranking up the rest of Upchuck hill, still wondering what went wrong, we continued on straight for a good steady ride. The group rode the longer route as has been done the last 2 weeks or so. We headed out west and after some directionally challenged riders were set straight, the group ended up sticking together for the most part until we came up to the right turn from Farrington onto Martha’s Chapel Road. A few straggler’s came up so that the riders could re-group and Bryan assured the group in back that the front group was not “waiting” for the group in back, rather the group in front was simply “recovering.” Nice! Steve S. let Steve Cope know that Ernest had broken away and had gone on a slightly different route so that he could add some miles to his trip and the group moved on. Steve S. told Steve C. to go on ahead since the back group (not slower, just the group in the back) would be able to get in just fine.

This then set off a chain of testosterone-laden events that would make Floyd Landis proud. The events that transpired were not witnessed by anyone other than the group itself, and so it was agreed that what happens out on the road, stays out on the road. Rumors however circulated that riders once considered strong were dropped “like a bad habit.” Only rumor at this point…

The back group however rode in the rest of the way taking the ever-so-slight Beaver Dam diversion a.k.a. the Larry Wu cutoff, see earlier posts on this subject and finished up strong.

Back at Bruegger’s, the group decided that the weather and riding was some of the best we’ve had in a long time and that fall can’t get here soon enough.

Smell the Roses Ride:
Carolyn and Jae took off from Bruegger’s and met up with Beth and her husband on the ride. This group was hoping not to re-create the “Traffic Incident” that was witnessed the week before, but apparently, a similar event did occur. Other than that, the group had a great ride and clocked in with 35 miles. Not sure what the actual average speed was, but it was possibly faster than the “group in back”, however there is no evidence to support this theory. (To reiterate, the group in back was not slow, they were just in the back.) This mileage was possibly the longest this group has gone which shows the rides are paying off.

Next rides are:
Saturday August 19th:
I will be out of town on Saturday, so please check with Kevin or Theresa about a MTB start at 10 am from the Smits’ house. The Smits’ house is located at 103 Tasman Court Cary, NC 27513

Sunday ride August 20th
Early assemble between 7 am and 7:30am with the riders off at 7:30. Assemble at Corner of High house and Cary Parkway in the Bruegger’s Bagel parking lot.