The ORR 300km was great. I've been to Balliston. A fine route. Great company. Near perfect cycling weather. From a technical perspective, the ride went more or less according to plan. The technical goal was to ride at about 120bpm and average about 22km/hr. Near hits at 125bpm and 21.8km/hr - close enough, especially given the (lack of) cycling so far this year and the fact that I'm working at my typical January weight in April. Other goals were to ride with people, take a few pictures and enjoy the day. These all happened.
The weather was as good as at gets. A little cold in the morning. A little warm in the afternoon. No rain. The wind was not a factor. Enjoyed the ride out of town, and the ride up the hill towards Timbers. I took a few pictures as we worked our way towards the coast:
We got to the coast, there were some nasty hills, and some great views of the ocean. Into Pacific City for a snack (I had coffee). And then back over Sawgrass from the coast - a simple enough climb.
Somewhere after Grande Ronde I realized I had a flat - dropped out of the group. First pass was just to inflate the tire (a mistake - but, it seemed like it might work at the time. Don't ask. It was a complicated rationalization that was shown to be clearly incorrect). This cost me about 4 minutes of non-riding time. I worked myself back within sight of the group (took about 30 minutes) when it became obvious that the tire wouldn't hold the rest of the way back. So, I stopped and replaced the tube completely. More than 4 minutes. Resuming I took it easy at first. Rummaged through the front bag for a snack. Ate a bar. Called home etc. Basically with 70-80km to go I felt great and was taking it easy. Took a picture across a field when I saw part of the group - two riders in the distance (Bill and Ray).
Eventually caught up with some of the people - the photo at the top was at the point of regrouping. In the group was a person who might know the origin of the phrase 'faffing around'. Enquiring minds wanted to know. I received a little more insight into the phrase (subsequently, at home and hitting the web, I found no satisfactory history of the phrase. The intent and meaning are clear from context though).
Eventually I ended up riding in with Bill - we'd finished another long ride together once. It turned out to be very good for me that we ended up riding in together. I started 'sugar cycling' after dark - and hit a sleepy patch. He was riding stronger; but, stopped at a few key corners to mark them so I didn't miss them in the dark. Thanks Bill. We got in a little after 10:00pm. Another great ride.
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