We had a great turnout for the A/B ride; I hope my memory doesn't fail me on the names. Bob, Steve, Eric, Jackie, Chuck, Daniel, Scott G., Chad, Marshall and I headed north on 9W to tackle some hills. The whole group stayed together through the marina and made the right turn onto 9W. We pacelined through the Tompkin's Cove rollers approaching the hard left to Buckberg Mt. Almost the whole group opted for the extra, "gratuitous" climb. We trudged up the mile-long, steep climb and regrouped at the top to offer congratulations to first-time Buckberg climbers Chad and Daniel. The tough-as-nails award for the ride goes to Jackie for opting to climb Buckberg (against ride leader advice) in spite of being off the bike for three weeks. Jackie is in good company; the previous recipient of this award was Julie who completed the GWB ride last Monday after sliding down Old Mountain Rd. leaving a fair amount of skin and lycra behind her. These RBC women are tough!
After very carefully descending Buckberg, we braced ourselves for the Dunderberg climb (How nicely these place-names preserve the area's Germanic roots!). Chad and I gave chase to a guy ahead of us who kept glancing back with an I'll-be-damned-if-I-let-you-clowns-catch-me expression on his face. Chad's extensive high-altitude training paid off and we caught him, and for good measure Chad got out of his saddle on the last rise and left me gasping in his wake, too.
We descended Dunderberg and regrouped for the ascent of the formidable Perkins Drive which rises 4-miles from route 9W. This time it was Daniel who stormed the hill and took the summit first. From the Bear Mt. Circle he laid down a steady tempo that none of us could hold. I worked to bridge the gap waiting for some sign that he was letting up, but it never materialized. We all took a breather at the top and rehydrated while enjoying the views. Chuck summited wearing a wide grin that you would not expect on a man who just climbed Perkins. He was loving the scenery and enjoying the challenge. Yet another reason I love club riding: enthusiasm is infectous.
The descent of Perkins was fun, and we made our way up the back side of Dunderberg. My arch-nemesis Chad and I had our usual climbing duel. On the last rise I took a chance and shifted to my big ring to ousprint him. My trusty drivetrain didn't explode from the pressure, but my legs betrayed me yet again and Chad nosed me out of the not-quite-clear finish line (Note to self: Drive around Rockland County and post brightly-colored stakes at the top of every major hill to mark a clear finish line).
We unanimously agreed to drop down into the Marina rather than brave 9W through Haverstraw where a cyclist has a better chance of survival riding through downtown Mogadishu. We cruised through the Marina at a comfortable pace enjoying some light banter and fine scenery and made our way to 9W. In the home stretch, Eric and Jackie appeared from a side street as though they had gone into some kind of wormhole in space that deposited them in front of us. So we finished up the ride together and enjoyed the RBC picnic at Rockland Lake.
I'm sorry, readers, that this is so long-winded, but it we had a great day in the saddle and I didn't want to miss a detail. Thanks to all the RBCers who made it happen, and many thanks to Anne, Rita, Lila, Paul, Tom and all the others who made the picnic a success.
-Ian
