| Date | August 25, 2007 |
| Hosts | Richard and Michelle Dittmar |
| Where | Dittmar home, Islip Terrace, NY |
| Who (else) | Larry & Brenda Isherwood, Bud & Renee MacIlvain/Mayeux, Neil & Barbara McPhee/Flint, Bob & Helen Bird, Ed & Pat Gifford, Paul & Mark (son) Hammerschmidt (our newest family of DOGS (Paul, Susan & twins Mark & Mara from LI) joined after the ride), Art & Terry Causin (currently Non-Dogs from LI), Dennis Jackson (Non-Dogs from LI single bike) |
[Team Dittmar report]
Michelle and I would like to thank the DOGS teams that made the trek to
Long Island for our 3rd annual ride with the soup and chili party tagged
in the late afternoon. It is absolutely the people that make the ride.
We had such a great time hosting the ride and we hope everyone enjoyed
themselves. We had 8 total teams including 2 other teams from here on
Long Island. The ride was relatively flat with a bonus rest stop at our
local Blue Point microbrewery. The rumor is that teambreeze is going
to write the ride summary so I will leave it at that. Thanks again DOGS
for the support here on LI.
This year instead of a remote start, we started from Dittmar's home in Islip Terrace. The group of 8 1/2 teams stayed together through the scenic roads of the south shore of LI to a Park for a rest stop about mid-way. We then headed on through a quaint bay town with a refreshing bay breeze and made our next stop at the Blue Point Microbrewery for a little bit of beer taste testing and a quick look at the microbrewery before heading out for the next quaint town along the last 10 or so miles back to the Dittmar's home. The Blue Point Microbrewery is where the Blueberry Beer that some purchased at Tandems East's Tandem Weekend in Hammonton, NJ is made, which was very tasty!
The almost 50 mile ride was mostly flat, with a few uphills/rollers along the route, although we do know that LI does have some hills!! Art & Terry Causin from LI were riding their Co-Motion and recounted attending their first weekend bike event in 1997 when they were at the ETR in Basking Ridge, NJ!!! Upon our return, all DOGS showered and shared some after-ride snacks while Richard & Michelle prepared for the 100 or so guests for their 3rd Annual Chili/Soup party. There was a judging of the chilies & soups and then the hungry troops swamped the food table and ate to their stomachs content... and then the desserts came out and some stomachs were at the bursting mark!
The food, drinks and company of their LI friends/family/single bike club was a complement to an already enjoyable day and the drive home was almost as easy as the drive in. It was a full and fun-filled day thanks to our LI DOGS Richard - Michelle who must have put in a lot of time - thought into this event in LI, and we look forward to visiting our LI DOGS in LI again!