Don't Shoot Him, Pa. I Love Him!

 Just a few memorable bits from a fun 45 mile ride with a couple friends.

Just another gorgeous quiet side road. Ho hum.

I ejected one of my water bottles hitting a pothole.  The top broke.  I stopped to pick up all the pieces in the road.  A guy came out of his house - "can I help you".  I'm lucky this was suburban eastern Massachusetts because there was serious "I'm getting my shotgun" vibes from this guy.  No, I did not get any photos.  And it wasn't just me -- my riding buddies picked up the same hostility from the guy.  "How dare you stop in the public way in front of my house?"  People are weird.

Happy to split our water

It was a hot day so we had two longish stops at grocery stores where we bought a gallon of water to split.  At the second stop there were a couple other cyclists.  One was at mile 92 of his day.  His route included summiting Mount Wachusett and going around the Quabbin Reservoir.  I was suitably jealous.  The other guy pulled in with dry water bottles and was bonking.  It was nice to be able to share the gallon with them too (a gallon is almost 3.8 liters).  It was tough to believe that just the weekend prior it had been cold and drizzly.

We also had a nice conversation with an older retired couple who were enjoying some dumplings from a nearby restaurant.

Next weekend is a biggie for me: Outriders.  125 miles/200 km.

My riding buddies & me at the end of our ride

Anyway, thanks for reading & keep the rubber side down.