| Date | June 4, 2005 |
| Hosts | Linda and George Wells, Helen and Bob Bird |
| Where | Wells house, Dover; Morris County |
| Who (else) | Sue and Greg Adam, Marji Brandriss and Dave Kristol, Lily and Mike Fabricante, Claire Hamanaka and Walt Willard, Brenda and Larry Isherwood, Cheryl Prudhomme and Mark Cook; Ann Smith (post-ride). |
[Dave Kristol report]
Wow! I sure didn't think this ride would happen, at least not on Saturday. Friday, when it was raining, Friday night when I looked at the radar loop, even Saturday morning, after George sent out email at 7 AM saying the ride was on, the weather seemed to have conspire against it. In fact, at 9 AM, as we loaded Rosie atop our car, it was sprinkling. Is this really such a good idea?
However, we decided to go for it, and the answer was a resounding "Yes!" The weather gradually improved as we headed north. Clouds had broken by the time we reached Dover. The weather proved to be sensational, the best weather of the spring, maybe.
Oh, the ride? How was the ride? Or rides? George arranged for there to be three overlapping options of varying lengths to accommodate all comers. Only George and Linda took the short option, so they could return home to set up for the post-ride fun. The rest of us split between the medium and longer options. The latter, though only slightly longer, was noticably hillier. Once we escaped the suburban centers near the Wells's house, the terrain turned undulating and quite scenic, with several nice long stretches beside lakes and reservoirs. The weather, routes, and scenery all made for a very nice day of riding indeed.
Afterward we assembled in the Wells's backyard to share the food everyone brought and to socialize. We all took advantage of the shade cast by a nice big magnolia to keep us cool as we recounted the day's adventures.
[Team Isherwood report]
The weather forecast was iffy but George declared the Wells/Bird 2 team hosted ride a go and go it did. The sun came out and stayed with us all day for the ride and the picnic.
There were 8 teams to ride the 3 Variations on a Theme, with each theme having a different length and tempo. We rode the fast tempo route with Mark & Cheryl which was aptly named Vivache con Brio and consisted of 37 rolling to hilly miles. The other 5 teams rode the medium ride which was 33 miles and 1/2 of our 2 team hosts, George & Linda, rode a short ride so they would arrive back early to prepare for the picnic. The routes shared the same first 14 miles and we all took advantage of this and rode at a sociable pace together. When the route split we picked up our pace a bit so we could hopefully meet the other ride somewhere on the return route. We had an extra 4 mile loop from the medium ride and it turned out to be a bit like a punch bowl....down hill we went and then it was time to climb...and climb...and yes, climb. After that it was flat to rolling. We did meet up with a couple of teams near the end and missed meeting some other teams by a few minutes. In the end all the teams arrived back within a close time frame. So it seems the rides were a success and the picnic was a delicious success also as was the conversation! It was nice to see 1/2 a team (Ann Smith) stop by for the picnic only. Thanks George, Linda, Bob & Helen for the fun filled day! Hope to see all you DOGS out on the road soon.
