Hot as it was tonight, there wasn't much wind, and it was enough cause for concern many of us wondered if we'd last the evening. Like a heavy quilt on a summer evening, it stifled enthusiasm to push too hard. At least, it did for me.
I went ahead and did the first pull on 337 because that's what I do, a bit slower than last week. It wasn't that I felt weak, but this week I wanted to have something left for the return trip. John T., Miller, Troy... they were all there, and it could be pretty hard for me if I let too much go on the way out.
We made 25.6 mph average on the way out. It wasn't full-out for me, and I'm quite certain the guys behind weren't taxed either. The sweat was beginning to build by the end, and when we stopped it got suddenly very hot. We refueled while the last few guys caught up. We also discussed the plan.
As before, no one really seemed up to push very hard. Troy took the first, held a moderate pace, handed to John T., who lifted it slightly, as did Miller, and finally as did I. Our overall average was 24.6 mph, giving us a round-trip average right at 25 mph. That's a pretty solid effort. For my part, I didn't feel particularly tapped, but I definitely didn't have a lot of top-end speed. The effort I could have sustained for much longer in both of my pulls, and I'm guessing I could have done the round-trip in alone in a similar speed.
Most of us found our way to Wendy's afterward, which is always a good time. We razz one another back and forth and generally just have a fun with it, though tonight was a bit special.
Roy asked for my help on figuring mileage on a century ride idea he had. He started rattling off the route road by road, but Roy's voice is, shall we say... monotone, and he tends to drop off in volume the longer he speaks. In the small crowd around the table, it soon came to the place where I could no longer hear him. First I deferred to Troy, who truly was the person that was better qualified to give the mileage in that particular area. Then I tried to get him to pause so we could work it out piece by piece, but in typical Roy fashion he just continued to talk as if I had said nothing.
What followed was actually my fault - I thought I could help him. I should have just shut up and stared out the window and when he was finished said, "Gee, I don't know." That would have satisfied him. It didn't matter to him if I could follow it or not, he was going to play that tape beginning to end, and if I couldn't understand him, well, that was my problem.
To the outsider, this exchange was just funny. Roy has a particular inflection to his voice that is just deadpan funny. So when he chastised me for not letting him speak uninterrupted (which would have been useless, but okay, point to Roy) and offered ever so condescendingly to repeat it for me I kindly retracted my offer to help. If I'm so dumb, my input wouldn't be valuable anyway, right? :)
I can't say who won that exchange - Roy wound up answering his own question (he usually does), but it did provide some entertainment for the rest of the table. It was all in good spirit, no hard feelings at all.
The jab of the evening easily went to John T. We were talking about cars and the subject of Jeeps came up. We talked about colors, engines, and many other aspects of Jeeps. Allen made a comment about he didn't get the "Jeep Thing", to which I agreed, he didn't. I thought I had him - and then John T. got me.
"No doors, no top, look at me!" says John T.
I started to respond, but you know what? Sometimes you have to let a comment sit alone with no follow-up. It was a great moment, and it was his. The Great Sage Galloway taught me this, and tonight he was certainly right.
Only two Tuesdays left in my summer. I'm going to miss it!
I went ahead and did the first pull on 337 because that's what I do, a bit slower than last week. It wasn't that I felt weak, but this week I wanted to have something left for the return trip. John T., Miller, Troy... they were all there, and it could be pretty hard for me if I let too much go on the way out.
We made 25.6 mph average on the way out. It wasn't full-out for me, and I'm quite certain the guys behind weren't taxed either. The sweat was beginning to build by the end, and when we stopped it got suddenly very hot. We refueled while the last few guys caught up. We also discussed the plan.
As before, no one really seemed up to push very hard. Troy took the first, held a moderate pace, handed to John T., who lifted it slightly, as did Miller, and finally as did I. Our overall average was 24.6 mph, giving us a round-trip average right at 25 mph. That's a pretty solid effort. For my part, I didn't feel particularly tapped, but I definitely didn't have a lot of top-end speed. The effort I could have sustained for much longer in both of my pulls, and I'm guessing I could have done the round-trip in alone in a similar speed.
Most of us found our way to Wendy's afterward, which is always a good time. We razz one another back and forth and generally just have a fun with it, though tonight was a bit special.
Roy asked for my help on figuring mileage on a century ride idea he had. He started rattling off the route road by road, but Roy's voice is, shall we say... monotone, and he tends to drop off in volume the longer he speaks. In the small crowd around the table, it soon came to the place where I could no longer hear him. First I deferred to Troy, who truly was the person that was better qualified to give the mileage in that particular area. Then I tried to get him to pause so we could work it out piece by piece, but in typical Roy fashion he just continued to talk as if I had said nothing.
What followed was actually my fault - I thought I could help him. I should have just shut up and stared out the window and when he was finished said, "Gee, I don't know." That would have satisfied him. It didn't matter to him if I could follow it or not, he was going to play that tape beginning to end, and if I couldn't understand him, well, that was my problem.
To the outsider, this exchange was just funny. Roy has a particular inflection to his voice that is just deadpan funny. So when he chastised me for not letting him speak uninterrupted (which would have been useless, but okay, point to Roy) and offered ever so condescendingly to repeat it for me I kindly retracted my offer to help. If I'm so dumb, my input wouldn't be valuable anyway, right? :)
I can't say who won that exchange - Roy wound up answering his own question (he usually does), but it did provide some entertainment for the rest of the table. It was all in good spirit, no hard feelings at all.
The jab of the evening easily went to John T. We were talking about cars and the subject of Jeeps came up. We talked about colors, engines, and many other aspects of Jeeps. Allen made a comment about he didn't get the "Jeep Thing", to which I agreed, he didn't. I thought I had him - and then John T. got me.
"No doors, no top, look at me!" says John T.
I started to respond, but you know what? Sometimes you have to let a comment sit alone with no follow-up. It was a great moment, and it was his. The Great Sage Galloway taught me this, and tonight he was certainly right.
Only two Tuesdays left in my summer. I'm going to miss it!
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