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June 21, 2004
(Almost) Annual Ride to Eden
Kudos to our ride leader Paul for picking a fantastic dry and sunny (not an easy feat these days) weekend for his Ride to Eden. This was the 4rth such ride in 5 years- upstaged only last year by the birth of his son Owen.
12 of us (Paul, John, Greg, Carl, Tom, Glen, Glenn, Matt, Gary, Jon, Don, and I) set out from Paul's Cottage Grove home bright and early on Saturday. It was a brisk morning and my jersey, arm warmers and windbreaker were not enough to block the chill (of course the guys were just fine). But the sun was shining so after so many biking days of rain I could hardly complain. No one had a problem complaining about the peristant headwind though.
We did break from tradition (gasp) at our first notable stop, which was breakfast in Hustisford. We ventured to try a quaint new cafe. The lot of us filled the dining area as the owner slaved over the stove nearby- one of standard home issue. Needless to say he was working the 4 little burners like crazy to accomodate our hungry crew.
It was a great meal, but that didn't stop the salivating a few hours later as we approached Dundee. Burgers and ice cream time!! (hey, this is why we ride:-) It definitely hit the spot as we were all dragging a bit this late in the ride.
Finally, 117 miles after first climbing on our bikes, we rolled into Paul's parent's place in Eden. We had an enjoyable evening there complete with golf, boche ball, a campfire, and countless kids for entertainment. And don't forget the great food! Ok, none of us exactly lost weight on this ride.
Many thanks to Paul's parents Jim and Mary for graciously letting all of us bikers use their hot shower and whatever sleeping space we could find.
Sunday morning 11 of us suited up for the pedal home (we lost Carl and Matt, but gained Chip). Another beautiful day for a ride -and this time it was warm! Rather unjustly though, it was also another day of headwind...only this time stronger.
Once again we broke from tradition with a slightly new route home. Fortunately the 80 miles was at most gently rolling, and quite condusive to pace-lining. We worked together much of the ride to tame the effects of the wind.
It was another great ride, even though we were all pretty happy to be off the saddle at the end :-) Definitely looking forward to next year...
In the meantime check out some pics!
Posted by michele at June 21, 2004 09:55 PM