Saturday Morning, 9 September
Day Zero – Arrival Day
Old friends, new friends arriving from all over the U.S., and other continents. Some people I recognize immediately. Others, we stare at each other for maybe 15 seconds. “I know you.”
“Yeah – was it the 2012 Northern?”
“No, I wasn’t on that one”. Then we figure it was something like the 2008 Ridge Ride. Some people I haven’t seen for over ten years rekindle fond memories. Pactour people generally never keep in touch. We just show up for these events, then pick up from where we left off.
I can’t help but notice some physiques. Two types in particular stand out. Riders with broad chests and shoulders, muscular arms are the triathletes. Perhaps they did a couple iron man competitions this year. The skinny ones bordering on the brink of emaciation are the climbers. I sort of looked like that last year.
Lots of stories to share – events of the past year, injuries and more. Broken pelvis, ruptured achilles, broken ribs from falling off a trainer. Other transcontinental rides from years I missed.
This morning at 6:15 am, a group of maybe 15 early arrivals left for a short warmup ride to Dog Beach on Pacific Ocean, where some of the newbies dipped their rear wheel in the surf.
Martha just told me I’m riding tomorrow – most of the crew doesn’t want to do the climb. I’m planning to give it a whirl in my Keene sandals and platform pedals – 77 miles, 8000 feet. We’ll see how that works out…