Conference noted::bicycle

   OK, I'll start it off, seeing that it was my idea.
    
    I rode on Sunday with the Charles River Wheelmen and meet Bill Sears,
    a newly elected v.p. of the CRW. We started out from Wayland on
    Rt. 20 and proceeded to ride throughout Sudbury, Stow, Marlboro
    and back again. For those who aren't familiar with this area, this
    is a fairly flat to slightly rolling hills area that is one of the
    prettier 26 miles in the Eastern part of Massachusetts.
    
    It was a sunny day from start to finish. It warmed up from the upper
    40's F (9 C) at 10 o'clock to the mid 60's F (18 C) at the finish.
    It was a great day to start of the outdoor season for one person at
    least. My bike had little problem with it's shakedown cruise. The
    body, unfortunately ran out of gas due to some operator error. I
    missed one small detail--not enough calories in the old hayburner. So 
    I was a bit draggy for the last 45 minutes of the two hours.  Still
    it was a nice start and glad to have met some new people in the
    process.
    
    Anyone else care to share their weekend biking experiences, possibly
    from either side of the big pond?
    			
    					Russ
    
    
    

    I had a nice ride in Old Lyme, Ct. on Sunday.  I started in East
    Lyme and rode on the Boston Post road to Grassy Hill road.  Proceeded
    up Grassy Hill (nice climb) and onto Beaver Brook Rd.  I took Beaver
    Brook to Rte 156 along the Conn. River, back to East Lyme.  It was
    about 40 miles of beautiful, quintessential New England.
    
    The 60 degree, sunny weather helped too.
    
    Phil

    It was a good weekend here, too.  Temps into the low 80's each
    day, everything green and lush after a week of torrential rains
    (they tell me), the pollen just coming out.  I did rides into
    the less inhabited spots of South Carolina each day - down to
    Camden (near Columbia) on Saturday, over to Sumter National Forest
    (talk about deserted!) on Sunday, and just around Great Falls and
    the Catawba Valley yesterday (yes, couldn't resist taking a day
    off).  Mileage 213, 213, and 215 - hence useful training rides
    as well.
    
    This is a great time of year, because things are green, but the
    bugs are not yet out in force, and the snakes aren't yet out lying
    about on the asphalt.  But the forsythias were in bloom, and so
    were the out-of-state plates (Ohio, WV, Ontario, ...) heading
    for Myrtle Beach.  I successfully warded off the biggest danger - 
    with #25 sunscreen.
    
    -john

    My first significant non-mountain-bike ride outside was this past
    weekend; a 40-miler with two triathletes (my brother & his friend
    Rick). (I am not a triathlete)
      
    The weather was gorgeous on Easter morning as we tooled along thru
    Hudson, Stow, Sudbury, Maynard, Concord, etc. The pace was brisk,
    as is usual with triathletes, but not bad - no heavy breathing ...
    until the "warm-up" was apparently over. All of a sudden I found
    that I was no longer on anyone's wheel, and the pace had picked
    up to 25-26 mph. Mile after mile my brother's friend hammered away
    at this pace (on his Scott DH bars), and my brother behind me (also on
    Scott DH's) rode off the back, not breathing that hard. Where were
    MY aero bars when I needed them??!! These guys were hurting me!
    After about 8 miles of this grueling pace my legs felt like lead,
    my lungs were screaming for more air, and thoughts of getting
    dropped kept coming into my mind more and more frequently. FINALLY
    my brother decided to catch Rick, who was about 100yds off the front,
    and I sucked his wheel all the way up to Rick, and the pace slowed.
    Whew, they almost broke me. They were both impressed that I held
    the pace on 'normal' handlebars, but I don't think either of them
    knew how hard I was going. There's just something about getting
    dropped by a younger brother ... I just CAN'T let that happen!
    
    The really great think about riding with triathletes is that they
    let you suck wheels for the whole ride if you want to, and they
    never go looking for a wheel themselves. Next time out with these
    boys and I'll make sure I'm on a wheel, rather than daydreaming
    as the wheel disappears in front of me!               
    
    Now that it's over I can say it was a really good workout.
    
    Mark
    

    Good description of fun competition. I felt like I was riding along
    with you. While I don't keep that kind of pace, I have shared that
    kind of experience with a friend that I've been riding with on an
    annual basis for years. 
    
    				Thanks,
    				Russ