Puddle Ride

I live off of Mass Ave in Arlington, so the commute to the Studio is a straight shot.  The road is a "false flat" as Neil would say, because it looks flat, but in reality is ever so slightly sloped up all the way to Lexington.  On a day in which I expected to have dead legs, the false flat had no effect and my concerns of lethargy diminished.  I got to the studio around 7:30 and waited for the group to arrive while Rob and Jillian opened up the store and fired up the coffee machines.

The rain was gone but the puddles were present so I wasn't sure who all would make the ride.  We had a good group show up, John and Pamela on their Independent's, Neil and Joe, Jeremy and I.  As has been the trend, there was a chill in the air so arm and leg warmers were all but required to fend off the goose bumps.  When is the summer going to arrive?  We did the same loop as always, and had a great ride.  I got the feeling that John might be unstoppable on a bike, I don't really know what low end torque is but I'm sure he has more than me.  Conveniently he is also a nice guy and it was fun to talk to him along the way, he has logged plenty of miles and has good stories to share because of it.  I also got to speak to Pamela, between her and John they must have 15 bikes in their garage.  Most impressive.  Jeremy also had a strong ride, I think before too long he'll be hard to hold back.

After the ride we hung out and nursed coffees and discussed whether or not we should ride a little more.  I was feeling anything but dead so I suggested the Giro loop that we had done a few weeks back, the one Graham led.  It's not the longest loop but has some short, steep climbs which I thought would put an end to my second wind.  I was so psyched that both Neil and Joe were up for it.  Both guys are great to ride with for a variety of reasons other than just being hilarious.  Neil can just crush the flats and his favorite, "false flats," while Joe can keep pace with anyone and is a good climber.  They are just as likely to crush you, as you are them, which adds a little spice to the ride.  More often than not, no one lays the hammer down, but it's nice to know that it could happen at any moment, and if it does, laughter and retaliation will ensue.

All three of us had energy and we did a decent job of crushing the hills.  Past Wilson Farms, over route 2, up Belmont Hill, into Belmont center, up the water tower, down the water tower, up the water tower, down to Trader Joe's and finally up Charles street for a super short, super steep calf killer.  A nice false flat to the studio and we were cooked.  I think we'll make this an optional post coffee route each week for those with restless, hairless legs.