By 8:15 am, there were roughly 30 people gathered outside of Tazza d’Oro (which was CLOSED, meaning more than a few folks went without their morning hit of caffeine), waiting for the ride to start. I had, after driving the course the previous weekend, cut the mileage to just a smidge under 50, partially in an effort to accommodate a few folks who wanted to do an alleycat later in the day. The route went north out of the city, along my old commute, into the North Hills, then east, along the Red Belt, to Tarentum, then back along Freeport Road. There were no long hills, but a 10 mile or so section of steep rollers. I had procured a “beater” road bike from Dave–a Bianchi Vigorelli (steel is real!) kitted with touring wheels, Nitto North Road bars, downtube friction shifters and, of all things, carbon cranks. I was excited to have a “light” bike for the hills, as during the IC Populaire, I felt the weight of my old Cannondale was really a hindrance.
Anyway, back to the ride.
The ride drew an eclectic bunch of folks, from lycra-clad roadies to commuters. I left the start a minute or two behind everyone else, riding with Josh. As we rode along Little Pine Creek, we began to gain a bit on a few other folks, and at the top of the hill on Wetzl Road, there was a nice little group together. Wetzl hurt, as expected, but I seemed to recover quickly. The rollers on Mount Royal strung the bunch out a bit, and the hairpin past Duncan really splintered the group. I moved ahead, and pushed relatively hard on the hill coming out of the hairpin, always feeling as if there was someone on my wheel (there wasn’t). When I reached Sample Road, I paused, and waited for a few folks to come into sight, since the turn, though marked, wasn’t terribly obvious. The descent of Sample was good fun (yah! coasting!), and Josh caught up and we took the hard right on Wildwood-Sample Road, a classic country road.
The surface is chipseal, and the road is a rollercoaster of sharp climbs and equally sharp descents. Feeling good on the light bike, I pushed hard on the climbs, and again managed to put some distance between myself and the rest of the group. Though I felt good, I was hoping that I wasn’t burning the wick at both ends. After a short descent, Josh again caught back on, and we picked up Nate, on his swell custom Rivendell. We cruised along together a bit, then caught up with two other folks after a brief navigation error (important note: street names on Google Maps do not necessarily correspond with the real world). The climb on Hardies, heading to Turner Road, splintered the group again, and I moved ahead on the initial descent over rough chipseal. I stayed at the front on the rollers, and we caught another group who were a bit confused about the navigation. A few miles later, together, we turned on the Red Belt.
Slowly, steadily, the bonk approached. I wasn’t having too much trouble staying with the group on the slightly rolling flats of the Red Belt, but my effort was pretty high, with no real opportunity to relax. I could push harder through the rollers because there was always a descent to catch my breath. As we approached Route 28, the group was here, there, everywhere. Once in Tarentum, I caught up with Stuart and Robbie, who were on the side of the road fixing a flat. I thought about saying hello, then pushing on to the next Sheetz, where I could get something to drink and something salty to eat, but, no, I stopped. So went my only hope of finishing with these two. Josh caught us, and we were on our way, but very shortly, Stuart’s rear tire was flat as well. I should have continued on to the Sheetz, but no, I didn’t. After we started again, I officially bonked, and a mile later, I was pulling into the Sheetz. Dummy.
Josh circled back around, and soon enough we were on our way, and I felt considerably better. We caught another group who had flatted, but since they were OK, we didn’t stay for long. 20 minutes later, I was climbing the zoo hill alone (Josh skipped the last hill to head home), and back at Tazza d’Oro. A group of 10 or so riders were milling about, and a few others had already come and gone. Within the next 30 minutes, the bulk of the riders returned, and I was on my way back home. Final distance was close to 50 miles, and comparing Josh and Stuart’s average speeds, I figure I managed about 16mph. Carrying a bit more food, I likely could have stayed with Stuart, but, oh well. It’s not a race, eh?
In the end, 32 people rode, and we managed to donate $160 to Bike Pittsburgh. Not a bad day at all.
Posted on 5 July 2007