DOGS of Long Island

[Brenda Isherwood report]

Our Long Island DOGS tandem team hosted a ride in their territory over the holiday weekend with a huge picnic of about 60 people after the ride including tandem friends, single bike friends, and neighbors. We headed out early and had a very easy drive out to the Dittmars' house and enjoyed the beautiful sunrise along the mostly deserted Sunrise Highway. There was a nice spread for "breakfast" and then we headed north and east on a 48 mile ride through the flat to rolling terrain of beautiful Long Island farmlands. Kevin & Michelle of Long Island were the only non-DOGS to attend & have been tandeming for much more than 12 years & their experience showed & made them a pleasure to ride with. Hopefully we will get a chance to ride with them again.

We stopped at Wildwood Park for a food & drink rest stop which we thank Michelle's sister for hosting. It overlooked the sound with a view of Connecticut. Our southwesterly return trip was flat but our ride was interrupted about 4 miles before the finish with a loud snap of a bolt breaking on Michelle's seatpost. Due to Michelle's back not being up to withstanding the broken seat, Brenda opted to swap stoker positions, so you will see a picture of Michelle stoking for Larry and Brenda stoking for Richard for the final 4 miles, which was an unusual adventure for all, especially Brenda. We need to mention that Tracy & Barbara enjoyed their new Santana carbon/titanium tandem and did a fine job and saw how well it could perform.

We all arrived together at the start point, then showered to be presentable for the huge BBQ that had more food than most can imagine but featured more than a half dozen chili recipes for a chili cook-off contest that was enjoyed by most. There was more than enough cold beer, wine and soft drinks to rinse down the sometimes spicy chili. We decided to head out for home at 9 PM and put our tired heads on our pillows at 11 PM for a good night's sleep after a very fun & eventful day on Long Island.