Yesterday I rode away from our place at 4:30 AM to meet nine other riders in town, at Back Alley. First I met Bruce at the intersection of the 30 and 421; we rode into town together. At the shop Bruce made coffee, which we then drank, while we waited for everyone to show up. By around 5:30 AM we were on the rode again, with a mild SW wind (less than 10 kph) somewhat at our back. By the time Mike, Albert, and I got to Letellier the "field" of ten had split into two groups. We waited at the 75 for Curt and Charles to catch-up (Curt had just had his first of three flats). After about 10 minutes we rode on, at a moderate pace (around 30 kph), expecting they would catch us, and then we would pick up the pace. But unbeknownst to us Curt had more flats. By the time the three of us reached Dominion City, we picked up the pace; we would wait for the rest at the breakfast stop in Vita. We were able to hold the pace at 36 to 38 kph, with some stretches in the 40s. The wind had picked up, but it was inconsistent and occasionally swirling.
If you've ever been chased or harassed by a dog, while riding your bike, you may understand our schadenfreude at the following amazing incident. Just this side of Vita, as we approached a farm yard on the North side of the road (our left) two dogs saw us and came howling and barking off of the yard to meet us. At that moment, a Chrysler mini-van approached us (from the East) as well. The lead dog, a largish, black, shaggy mutt, met and that mini-van met one another at full tilt! If the driver made any decision at all (between us and the dog?), we couldn't tell, because he neither slowed, swerved, nor braked. He just thudded right through and over that dog (the guys who were behind us confirm the casualty); the sound was sickening. But I've been hassled by dogs often enough that I couldn't help but be a little gleeful too. I know I know. This was glee over an unnecessary death, but understand that the fault for this rested entirely on the dog. It lived on a highway along which vehicles travel back and forth at high speeds. It's had time to learn the ropes. It didn't pay close enough attention because it was about to pick on a group of slower, more vulnerable vehicles (us). And you just have to accept the risk and cost of that kind of action. Which I'm sure it did. There could be no other way, unless the dog had learned not to do what it did. I'm sure it was somebody's best friend. That's sad. I guess. But that dog wanted to harass me and my friends. So. It. Goes.
We reached Vita at 7:45 AM and waited more than 30 minutes for the other group. We ate breakfast there with them, and then all left together at around 9:30 AM. Albert decided that he needed to return to Altona, because of prior commitments, so he set off on his own. The rest of us were refreshed so we rode at a good pace again, but it was a bit too quick for some. Mike and I continued on at 36+ kph, depending on the wind. At about 100 ks Mike felt that some of his leg pain was due to the new WTB saddle he was testing. Since I was testing one too, I offered to switch, to see if that improved things. It did improve things for Mike, not so much for me, but it was bearable. We reached Sprague (my 160 k mark) at about 11:45 AM. We stopped there to pick up some energy food and drinks, and then we headed off again at just after 1 PM. After 5 hours and 25 minutes (from Altona, 5 hours and 50 mins total for me) we pulled into the Driedger's cabin at Moose Lake. We'd averaged between 33.5 and 34 kph (Mike's computer says more, mine says less) for 197 kms. Not bad!
We changed and swam to clean up, waited for the rest of the guys to arrive, had steak and potatoes (of course) thanks to the great generosity of Bruce and Elexis, compared aches and pains, slept, and headed home today.
It was a great ride and a great time! Here's the map of the ride.
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