By CE Taylor
Nine riders met at the Sherwood Oaks Church for a ride around Lake Monroe. Greg Alexander, Ron Brown, Tom Whitehead, Jen Miers, Keith Vogelsang, Dan Hickey, Steve Emery, Klaus Rothe and CE Taylor. Greg and Linda Mongold met us on Moores Pike on their tandem. That gave me a chance to get a quick picture.
At Swartz Ridge we met Jim Lang who joined the group for the ride also. I was lucky to get behind the Mongold’s tandem and have a nice draft all the way to the causeway. South of the causeway Greg and Linda once again came to my rescue and gave me another fine draft to the turnoff for Church Lane. After a short rest there we continued on the south leg of the ride. It was during this time that clouds came in and making rain seem more likely. The Alps arrived and slowly passed and I finally caught up with the group at the dam. As we approached Strain Ridge it started to sprinkle. It was almost refreshing. I should mention that Greg Alexander was riding a single speed bike around the lake. He would spin out like crazy on the flats but did pretty well on the hills. He did make the entire route and frankly, I was amazed that anyone could do it. I hope everyone got home before the sprinkle turned into a rain. I did, barely.
I was pleased at the turnout for the ride. What was interesting is that several of the riders today said that they might not have ridden today if there had not been a club group ride. I know what they meant because I felt the same way. I hope other members can come out and ride this winter before the regular schedule comes out for the season. Come out and have fun and get a head start on your mileage for the year.
