3/13 Bethel Spring Series Race result.  The night before the race, I was not sure whether or not it would be cancelled because of snow.  At 7:30pm, it was posted on the website that the race was definitely on.  I was assuming that the race was going to be cancelled so I had to get ready.  I was running late getting to the race, so late that I was not sure if I would even make the start.  Luckily for me, the races were running 15 minutes behind and I had (barely) time to take a few warm up laps.  This week's race had about the same number of racers in the field as last week's race.  The pace seemed faster than last week with more attacks but nothing that materialized.  As the last final laps were winding down, I tried to recover a bit until the final lap.  I jumped on the wheel of another racer who decided to take an early lead.  He finally blew up and two racers from the Northeast Bicycle Club in NY went by with about 300 yards to the finish.  I jumped on their wheel until the start of the finishing climb.  The finish line is at the top of a steep 175 meter climb.  I took the inside corner and gave it all I had without looking back.  I turns out that I took 1st place by several bike lengths.  With last week's 5th place finish and this weeks 1st place finish, I now hold the GC for the series!

March 12-13, 2005…17^th Annual Keyesville Classic, Lake Isabella CA. This was the first weekend of our school’s spring break, so I decided to take off a day early and make the 8-hour drive to Lake Isabella (at the southern end of the Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mts.) with my fellow teammates Michael and Jim. We arrived in Keyesville at 3:30 am, and got some brief shut-eye before waking up to a beautiful, sunny day. I was surprised at the strength of the sunshine compared to the brisk feel of the air, but it all felt great. We had a quick breakfast at a not-so-great mom n’ pop place (food okay, service sub-par), and headed out to the venue for the day. After setting up the easy ups and getting our "base camp" in order, we all decided to get suited up and go for an easy practice run. Our friends Donna and Steve had already been up for a run and said the course was pretty non-technical (except for a small part near the top) and consisted mostly of open fire roads. We had to self-shuttle, so everyone packed into two pick-up trucks and headed up the twisty, dusty road toward the top. I was still fighting off quite a nasty head-cold and was hacking in no time flat, but it felt good to be out riding anyways. We unloaded the trucks and were ready for our run. The top of the course was a bit steep and a bit off-camber, with a rock section that would require a better look so that we could get the best line. The rest of the run was a double-wide road that zipped us down to the bottom…not technical, but it would require some effort to pedal it. We did a few more runs that afternoon, sectioning small pieces at a time with former team member (and just turned pro) Curtis Zamora. He gave Nancy and I some great tips and suggestions on how to shave seconds off our runs. We stopped and had lunch, then did a few more runs, trying to dial the course in. We ended the day with 7 or 8 total runs down the course, and felt I felt confident that I had my race plan all set up. In the evening, we all decided to meet up in Lake Isabella for dinner and cerveza at a Mexican restaurant (the team’s staple food).

The next morning, we all woke up quite early to get over to the venue and do some practice runs before our race. At the last moment, I was convinced by my team to move up to the Expert DH class (they said I was far too solid of a rider to not do it), and so 30 minutes before the shuttle left, I made the move. I would be racing against one other girl in my age group, but overall awards were going to be handed out to the first 3 places in all expert women ages combined. I went up and did 1 practice run, which went pretty smooth. The format of the race was a 2-run combined time. We all shuttled up to the top of the hill and waited for quite a while for the race to begin. Now an "expert" rider, I had to start a lot sooner than normal (nothing like having to wait for beginner or even sport)! The pro and semipro men went off down the hill, screaming down, no-braking it and turning hard into the berm that began to carve itself out in the soft, dark dirt after hundreds of knobby tires sunk into it. I wasn’t really nervous, and began to focus on the top of the run, going over my lines in my head. In no time, it was my turn. I clipped into my pedals (my first race not using flats) and centered my weight while the official steadied my back tire (there was no gate or pole to hold onto). I rode down the hill, probably braking too much, but I didn’t want to wipe out on the corner. The next section was smooth, and I cruised down, at what I would later consider to be too slow of a pace. Nevertheless, I made it out unscathed and passed some of my teammates and supporters along the sides of the trail. I made it to the double-wide road and tucked down to carry myself up the hill (like Nancy and I had practiced). With a small amount of pedaling, I made it right in front of the finish line, but drifted to the outside after the apex of the last hard turn. I ended up in the sand and almost in a huge bush on the left side of the trail. I looked behind me about 25 seconds later, and saw Nancy do the same thing (at least I didn’t feel like I was the only one!).

I figured Nancy made up some time on my run, and the only suggestion I got from Roger was "you have to pedal more…!" I took it to heart and on my 2^nd run, pedaled until I was totally anaerobic, but pushed as hard as I could. I cut a full 20 seconds off my 2^nd run, which in the world of DH is a lot. I ended up with the fastest women’s time of the day and won first place for expert women combined (plus won a Benjamin for my efforts). With Keyesville complete, we all went out for pizza and then headed back to SoCal for our race the next day at Fontana.

 

March 13, 2005. SRC Winter Series #5, Fontana CA. The day after the Keyesville race, we were in Fontana (near Riverside) for Southridge Racing Club’s final race of their winter series. I had raced at Fontana once before and was pretty familiar with the terrain: even though the course changes for every race, there are still features that are the same, such as "The Wall"…about a half-mile stretch of flat trail that runs next to a concrete wall right before the end of the course. This does not sound very difficult, but remember that the average DH bike weighs between 45 and 50 lbs and that we are usually completely anaerobic and full of lactic acid by this point. It is a challenge, to say the least (but riding XC and road helps with this part…also, doing sprint practice on the DH bike). Anyway, since I had moved up to expert, my primary competition was my teammate Rileigh, a girl who was last year’s junior national DH champion in her age group.

We usually practice all day Saturday at Fontana before Sunday’s race, but didn’t have that luxury of full-day practice. So, a few of us got in 2 or 3 practice runs before the race…the course had a lot of tight turns and a few technical sections, with a couple g-out table top combinations thrown in for fun. Since this race is only 1 run, there is less of a margin of error than other formats where there are two runs. I started the race feeling confident and the top of my run went well. I was dropping down into a stair-step before the g-out and the run-out after the stairstep had an off-camber rut on the right. Surely enough, I was not focused enough and let my eyes drift down toward the rut…I slid (and luckily braked) just enough so that it was a controlled slide. Nevertheless, I lost some time here but got back on and tried to pedal like crazy. By this time, my legs were on fire from the lactic acid, and so I sat on the seat briefly to rest (in DH, you rarely sit on the seat, and the constant standing requires a lot of quad strength, even during a 3 or 4 minute run). I got to the wall and pedaled as hard as I could manage, crossing the finish line in a hair over 4 minutes. Rileigh had done a similar slide out on the off-camber section and finished about 0.6 seconds ahead of me! Another girl came in 3^rd, and so I got another 2^nd place finish. Two races that weekend was difficult, but lots of fun, and I was glad that I had a chance to travel around with my team. Submitted by Stephanie

 

Sunday 3/13: Since the last snowstorm has left the roads pretty much un-rideable for a group, I decided to do a snowshoe hike today. It finally stopped snowing late last night and this morning was bright and sunny with the temperatures right around 32 degrees. I had called Jack yesterday to see if the snow would be good for a hike and he said that the conditions were great. At 12:30 we left the shop and headed over to Jack's. Joining me was Penny, MaryEllen, Eddie, Jenn, Sue, Zoë (the dog) and Helen. We parked the vehicles at Jack's house and walked over to the trailhead where we were met by Mike Sztegala who arrived late. We put our snowshoes on and the headed into the trails. The snow was heavy and wet compared to the last few snowfalls and it was pretty deep in places. We hiked up the main trail into Erving State Forest and then took the Bear Loop Trail. After a few stops for equipment adjustments, we found ourselves hiking up a pretty long hill. With the sun shining on the snow we found that it was pretty warm when we got out into the open but when we got back into the shade it cooled right down again. This caused most of us to have to keep zipping and un-zipping our coats to keep warm/cool as we moved from the shaded trails to open areas. Jack and Jenn were at the front breaking trail while Eddie and I stayed near the back of the group. The first few hikers compacted the snow pretty well, so Eddie and I had a pretty easy time hiking on their trail. When we got to the top of the hill we stopped to take a break and I snapped a few photo's before we headed out. The trails we hiked on up to this point were mainly unused and we had to break trail (well not me anyway) for most of it. When we headed out from the top of the hill we were on snowmobile trails and the rest of the hike was on packed trails. We hiked downhill for quite a way before we got to Laurel Lake. We bushwhacked through the woods to get to the lake and some of us hiked on the lake while some took the road. When we got almost to the other side of the lake we heard the ice cracking underneath us so we turned and headed to the shore  nearest to us. We hooked up with the rest of the group and then we headed onto a blue blazed trail that way built by Salem State College. This trail took us on a circuitous 1 mile loop though the woods and brought us out about 100 yards from where we started. Although it was fun, the group was starting to tire somewhat. Eddie was also getting cold and he needed to get picked up from time to time. Also, there was quite a bit of snowmobile traffic which left us all choking on fumes after they passed, and required us to hold onto the dogs so that they wouldn't get hit. (Unlike myself, they would suffer more harm from a collision .) We hiked at a brisk pace back to the roadway and after removing the snowshoes, we headed for Jack's house. It was a really nice hike on beautiful trails and we all enjoyed the nice day. Jack invited us in for some cookies and refreshments. Most of the group declined but Penny, Eddie, MaryEllen and I partook of the goodies before heading for home. You can see photos at 3/13

Tuesday 3/15: It is getting more like spring every day and with that we have continued the 1:00 bike rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today I was joined by Steve, Jeff, Curt and Jamie. After the pre-ride photo shoot we were ready to roll. It was 38 degrees and windy when I led the boys out of the parking lot. We had decided to do the loop up to Bernardston and then back down RT. 63 to Turners Falls, with the possibility of adding a longer loop if the group felt like it. We rode easily over to Bernardston Road and I took the lead going up the hill. I kept the speed at a steady 15 mph all the way to the top of the hill and after I crested the hill I pulled off to go to the back. Well, it turns out that the back of the group was just Jeff. The other riders were a good 100 yards back so Jeff and I soft pedaled for a bit and they caught back on again. We rode at a 20 mph pace into a cross/headwind for the next few miles and I tried, vainly, to jump Jeff for the town line at Bernardston. He waited until I was next to him and then just pushed a little harder to beat me at the line. Oh well, more training!!! Jeff and I rolled on for a little ways and the boys caught back on. We then headed for RT. 10 in Bernardston. After making the turn we discovered that Curt and Jamie were not with us, so we slowed up a bit and they caught back on. We formed a double paceline and headed for Northfield. All was going well and I was planning on trying to take Jeff at the Gill town line. I waited for the last second and was just about to go around Jeff on the right side, when Curt went flying by both of us and took the sprint. (That was the last sprinting that Curt was to do today.) After that Jeff and Steve took the lead and put some distance on us. Jeff and Steve were stopped at the corner of RT. 63 when Curt, Jamie and I got there. I told Jeff and Steve to continue on and that I would ride back with Jamie and Curt. After Jeff and Steve went by us we settled into an nice pace and rode all the way down RT. 63 to Millers Falls where we took Millers Falls Road back to Turners Falls. The wind was pretty brutal as I headed toward the airport and I had a tough time keeping a  18 mph pace. When we got near Scotty's Store, Jeff and Steve were riding back towards us and they provided us with a tow to the top of the Third Street hill. We rolled down the hill and through the light to the canal and after crossing both bridges we headed up Esleeck Hill. Curt was pretty much done at this point and he waved us on while he settled into a comfortable pace for the ride back to the shop. All in all it was a pretty nice day considering the weather that we have had recently. We all finished the ride with a 17.5 mph average for the 26 miles.

They're Back:

Thursday 3/17: In the predawn of St. Patty's day members of the Amish Mountain Bike Club were spotted heading up Old Northfield Rd into the Montague Plains.

It is true. At 5:00 this morning I parked in MAC's driveway and awoke the old GT from its much too long hibernation. We left the driveway and headed for the Money Trail, only to turn back instantly. That trail had had very little traffic from the sleds and we didn't really feel like tackling the soft stuff that early. Instead we headed up the road to the Power lines where the trails were as hard as pavement, except where some idiot on a 4wheeler had blown out the trail. We avoided his softened ruts as much as possible and finally left his tracks at the turn up Willis Hill. We rode up the hill to Middle Rd then over Red Rock and back out to the Telephone Pole Trail as far as the Fire Pit where we chanced the Money Trail back to the Rd. It turned out only about 50' of that trail was soft - probably where the road salt had been tracked in. We only need the lights for about 20 minutes as it is light by 5:30 now. Good thing since at about 5:20 MAC hit an icy patch with his knee and battery a bit harder than he intended busting the bottle cage...

Temperatures were in the low 20's so we were pretty frosty by the time we got back to MAC's place after riding just over an hour. It sure felt good to be out on the trails again, though these conditions surely won't last very long.

Hammerhead
 

Thursday 3/17: It was a bright sunny early spring day and I had planned a road ride for 1:00 this afternoon. There was a brisk wind blowing from the north and the temperatures were in the middle forties. There was a group of six riders waiting for me at the shop when I pulled into the parking lot in the van. Joining me for ride today was Jamie, Curt, Michelle, Steve, Tom Terrific and someone who we will call J--- Armstrong because he was supposed to be at work but called in with an illness. As the riders were getting their bikes ready, I realized that I was the only one who would be riding a 'cross bike, so I decided to switch to my Kestrel. We left the shop and I started my cycle computer and quickly discovered that the cycle functions were not working. After a brief stop to get the unit working, we soon headed out for RT. 5&10. I led the pack up the hill at a steady 14 mph pace, which was good for our group because when I pulled off, everyone was still in line. We rode down the hill on Bernardston Road with Michelle at the front. As we neared Meridian Street Michelle pulled off and came down the line to get in back. As she did a State Police car came by and when we got to Leader Home Center he was on the side of the road with his lights on and waving us over. He warned us about riding in a single file (we were actually in the breakdown lane) and sent us on our way. We rode in a nice single file all the way to Bernardston where we turned right onto RT. 10. After the turn we headed east and we got a little respite from the wind until we got to the open section of highway. I got to the front a couple of times until we got to the downhill. At this point I had dropped to the back of the pack where I stayed until we got to RT. 63. After the turn onto RT. 63 I ended up riding at the front for a couple of pulls. J--- was doing the lion's share of the work at the front of the group for most of the ride and I did a couple of pulls to try to help out. The group stayed together until we got to the hills where things got pretty strung out, so we slowed things down a bit. I ended up riding behind J--- as we got to the third hill on RT. 63, but I had to drop off as the pace was more than I could sustain. As I went to the back I noticed that there was a split in the line with Jamie tailed off the group. I slowed my pace until I got to Jamie and we then headed off to catch up with the group. Jamie and I got on just as we crested the hill in Millers Falls and all of us rode down to the village center. Just as we got into town, Jamie said that he was getting tired and wanted to head back through Turners Falls. Being the good friends that we are, we "suggested" that he stay with us. We formed a phalanx around him and escorted him onto RT. 63 and soon we were on the way to Montague. This section of highway is always in rough shape and with the winter wear and tear, it was pretty tough to avoid the potholes. We all rode at a steady 18 mph pace until we got to the RT.47 turn. Everyone except for J--- turned onto RT. 47, J--- continued on straight on RT. 63 to head home (he had ridden up to the shop). The remainder of the group then headed through Montage Center and out to Turners Falls Road. Tom Terrific took the lead for a long pull over to the Fire House. At the four way stop I turned the group left and we then took a right onto Montague Street. This is a much nicer and smoother road than the usual route that takes us down the Third Street Hill. We rode over to High Street and then down Seventh Street to the traffic lights. We rode through the lights and then we rode to the canal where we crossed the bridges back into Greenfield. When we got across the river and onto the hill I decided to ride back with Jamie, who was having lots of trouble with his really dangerously deteriorated bike. I felt I had to ride back to the shop with him in case the bike self destructed and he needed me to help him out. Maybe he will get that new bike so that he will not be in any danger when he rides.

March 17-20, 2005. NORBA National #2, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fountain Hills AZ. Finally, a national race right in Phoenix’s back yard! I was planning to race Super D on Saturday and XC on Sunday, but was up at the venue both Thursday and Friday as well to watch some of the other events. The marathon (81 miles) and mini-marathon (27 miles) were Thursday, and two No Brakes team members did the mini-marathon. Friday was the time trial (8 miles around the long loop), and I put in 4 hours of volunteer time during that race, helping out Team NOVA (a youth development program in the PHX area that was putting on the national). I was stationed at the finish line, wedged in between two pieces of metal fencing, writing down times and numbers by hand (just in case the official timing went wrong or something!) Anyhow, we had lots of team members show up for the race…most of our Phoenix contingent and a smaller showing of our SoCal people. The Super D course was a huge secret up until the morning of the race (because part of it, we would later find out, ran backward on the old Cactus Cup loops, and going backward in the wrong direction is not allowed…I think Snakeboy knows that first hand). That morning, we did a slow run on the 10 mile course, which was mostly flat roads with a *downhill* grade and then a lot of up and down climbing at the end. The race itself went well, and there were 5 girls in my age bracket (all 19-29 women, regardless of NORBA category were put together). I did not go at 100% effort because I knew I had my XC race the next morning at 7 am, but I put in a decent effort, finishing in 3^rd place (1^st and 2^nd went to two expert XC riders) out of 5. It was a fun race, overall.

The next day during the XC race (which may very well have been my last XC race for a long time…DH is just more my style and matches my endurance level better), I had a hard time. I kept up with the pack pretty well for the first 3 miles or so out of the 14-mile course. But, then I whacked my crank on a baby-head rock and my chain dumped off my big chain ring. I had to stop and fix it, and hopped back on, but by that time, the pack was out of sight. I was alone…for the next 11 miles with nobody to chase and nobody to pull. I had also lost my large water bottle when I hit my pedal on the rock (that just demonstrates how hard I hit), and so the only reserve of water I had for the last 11 miles was a tiny 8 oz bottle in my back pocket. I pushed pretty hard, feeling like I was going in reverse half of the time, but I managed to hang in there and cross the line 6^th out of 7 riders. It was, for me, a difficult race, but I was glad I did it anyways.

Upcoming DH races for me include the Fontana Spring Fling Series (3 races during April and May), the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey CA, another Bootleg Canyon (Boulder City NV) race, and NORBA Nationals at Brian Head UT, Deer Valley UT, Schweitzer ID, and Durango CO. Also, we are going to Whistler, British Columbia for a week at the end of June to ride their legendary trails. I will keep you updated as often as I can…west coast riding is unique and fun, but there is something about the east coast trails that I still miss! I’ll see you guys in June…

Submitted by Steph

03/20/2004 Tour de Kirche.  Today's weather was a mix of rain/snow and the temps were in the lower 30s.  The racers from the race before mine had a coating of ice on their helmets and bikes.  I was starting to regret bringing my new Felt to the race.  The Cat 4 race began and I quickly warmed up, even though I was quickly soaked by the rain and wet road.  This race seemed to have a quick pace with a lot of attacks.  The pace eventually slowed.  I was not happy riding at a slow pace and decided to bring the pace back up.  When the lap card showed 4 laps left, a group of riders tried to organize a break and included me in the attempt.  We were quickly caught and I realized that I need to sit in for a lap to get ready for the pace to pick up and the final sprint.  I started the final lap in the second position.  I grabbed the wheel of anyone passing me.  I grabbed a wheel going into the final turn, took the turn on his outside and began my sprint.  I ended up taking 1st place for the second week in a row. 

     Ok, did I mention that I had also signed up for the 3/4 race on the first day of spring?  I was debating whether or not I would actually race it but was too excited, after winning the Cat 4 race, not to.  The one hour wait for my second race was the coldest part of the day.  I had decided that I was not going to put any hard effort into my second race- I think the cold had my spirits down.  I quickly warmed up and so did my spirits.  Eight minutes into the race, I grabbed the wheel of a rider who was chasing down a 3 person attack.  Before I knew it, I was in the middle of a 5 person break away- 30 seconds ahead of the field.  Twenty minutes later, we were still 30 seconds in front of the herd but two riders bridged the gap and caught on.  With these two riders, we were able to increase our lead to 50 or so seconds, about half a lap.  We were able to hold our break away that started eight minutes into the race to the finish line.  I pulled too hard on the final lap and was against  6 other racers who were racing their first race of the day.  I ended up with 6th place in the 3/4 race.  I was excited because this was my first race that I was part of a break away that was able to break away for so long and keep it to the finish line.  I was extremely happy with a 1st and 6th place finish. 

Tuesday, March 22nd
Distance - 36
Average - 18.3
Ending Mileage - 455

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I cannot accept,
and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today, because they really pissed me off.

Tuesday 3/22: The weather keeps getting better every day and with the warmer temperatures we have gotten more riders to come out for the afternoon rides. Today's ride was no exception, we had Jamie, Tom Terrific, Flying Brian, Jaybird, Michelle, Steve Power, Don McCool, Baby Bell, Bob Croak, Jenn, Curt and me. I was still suffering from my cold so I told everyone that I would be riding sweep and that no one should wait for me if I dropped off. That said I led the group down High Street to Hope Street. We rode all the way to the end of Hope Street to avoid the ice and snow on the roadway under the Russell Street railroad overpass. At the end of Hope Street we headed over to the Cheapside Bridge where we headed south to Deerfield. At this point I got into the middle of the bunch and I rode down to Old Deerfield safely in the bunch. When we got to Old Main Street the group split up with Jamie, Jaybird, Jenn and me tailing off the back. As we rode along I gave some pointers to Jenn so that she will be better able to maintain a steady speed. We rode along at a brisk 18 mph pace all the way to the hill on Mill Village where Jenn came off the back. Jaybird went back to get her and when they caught up to Jamie and me, we all rode up Lee Road to the Stillwater stop sign. The rest of the group was waiting there for us (I'm not sure why, but that was nice,) and we all rode down RT. 116 to South Mill River Road. At this point the group split up again leaving Jenn, Jaybird and me riding along at 18 mph. Off in the distance we could see that Don had gotten dropped from the pack and was riding in "no man's land" between the two groups. We kept a steady pace over to the hill near the Whatley Glen and I gave Jenn some tips on getting up the hill. We finally caught up with Don and Jamie (who had dropped off the lead pack as well) at the turn onto Christian Lane. The five of us rode down to RT. 5&10 where we took a left at the Whatley Ballet. I rode at the back of the pack as we rode north past the Whatley Diner. After crossing the RT. 91 bridge we made our way through the traffic lights at RT. 116 and continued north. Don wanted to take a try at the front of the group so he went up to lead us.  I stayed at the back all the to Greenfield. Although I was coughing and hacking the whole way, I felt pretty good otherwise. It was a good ride and we all enjoyed the warm weather and a chance to ride.

Saturday 3/26: I have had a cough for most of this week and I decided to try to ride it out so today I went out for the road ride. We had 12 riders show up for the 1:00 start. Baby Bell, Jeff, Curt, Parrott, Michelle and Doug Dale rode a 40 mile loop while I went on a 23 mile ride with Lauren, Jenn, Shirley Holmes, Mike S., Walters, Sam, and Jack. After the first group left I headed out with my bunch. We rode down to Hope Street and took the right under the railroad bridge which, although bumpy and full of potholes, was ice free. After we got to Deerfield Street, I noticed that Shirley was not with the group. I asked if anyone had seen her and Lauren said she was just a little behind us. We waited at the stop sign and Shirley came right along. As soon as she arrived we headed out and I led the group for a short way before I dropped back to ride with Walter and Shirley. We rode into Deerfield where I noticed that Shirley was having a little trouble with the pace. I spoke with her and she said that she would just go at her own pace and do a shorter loop. After making sure she was OK, I left her and sprinted off to catch up with the group. I made contact with them at the Deerfield Inn and soon we were off to do the rest of the ride. I rode in the back of the group on the way down Mill Village Road and when we got to the hill, Walter and I sprinted up to the top of the hill. At the top of the hill, Walter and I waited for the rest of the group to come along and then we all headed off towards South Deerfield. Jack rode at the front while I rode with Jenn at the back of the group. Jenn was having a hard time with the pace so after we crossed RT. 5&10, Jenn went to the front and rode behind me down to the center of town. We stopped at the market in town to discuss the route. We decided to ride back to Greenfield via River Road. Jack then led us down to RT.116 where we made the left turn to head down the hill to River Road. After a little argee bargee with the traffic at the turn onto River Road we all made it across the highway alive and began the trip back north. Jack kept the pace pretty brisk and I did my best to keep everyone in the group, but Jenn was not feeling up to a hard push so Jack agreed to ride back to the shop with her. I then took the rest of the group and headed off to do the hills. I chatted with the riders as we headed up the first hill but the group got pretty strung out when Walter and I pushed the pace a little bit. Walter, Lauren, Mike and I then rolled down the other side past Jorge's house and started the next climb. When we got to the top of the next hill only Lauren was with Walter and I, so we soft pedaled for a short way and then turned around to await the rest of the group. Pretty soon Sam and Mike came over the hill and then we all rode together to the end of the road. We did a couple of hill intervals on the next two hills before coasting down the last hill to the Cheapside Bridge. After crossing the bridge we set a mellow pace for the trip back to the shop. When we got back to the shop, I spotted Shirley just leaving and I went over to tell her to come back and join MaryEllen for a ride. We all had a good ride and it was a pretty nice day to be out. I was glad that I did not push too hard because my cold was still bothering me, but I felt fine after getting back to the shop.