I had a good weekend of riding over the Fourth of July holiday. On Saturday, our breakfast destination was Boxford, followed by a nice back roads ride to Georgetown, through the state forest and back down to Wenham, Beverly and Salem for 45 miles RT. (I actually think it was longer, but my cycling computer needs a new battery.) It was a terrific ride, but if I weren't following Steve-Bob and Mojito Dave, I would have been completely lost. Only once did I recognize where we were.
We started out with a large group -- 20 riders -- but only seven of us continued on to Georgetown to add another ten miles. The others opted to take a shorter ride through Bradley Palmer State Forest. Interestingly enough, we somehow we endeed up running into each other at Wenham Common 45 minutes later.
On Monday, July 4th, I rode with friends, Brenda and Donna, to Manchester-by-the-Sea for a quick holiday ride of 30 miles. We were sidetracked by one parade at Prides Crossing and then beat it out of Manchester before the second parade began. We also tackled "Susan's Hill" together in support of our friend, Manny, who has just been diagnosed with Lymphoma. While I have full confidence that he will beat it, his news has been a sobering reminder of how personal the PMC has become to me.
"Ride as much or as little or as long or as short as you feel, but RIDE" -- Eddy Merckx
