Draft that Tandem!

We met Chris Gazzola at Midtown Fitness where he leads a spin class designed especially for cyclists. He invited Dave and I to join a group ride last Saturday with the Quinebaug Valley Velo Club. With temperatures in the low 30's for the projected high, we bundled up and left home on our tandem a bit after 9 am. We rode 8 miles to the starting point. It was surprising to see that there were over 20 riders gathered in front of Simon's Bike and Brew waiting for the start of the ride!

We chatted with fellow cyclists as we departed, and pretty much all along the way. Some of the others on this ride are racers -- that's a class of bicyclists we don't often hang out with!

The route consisted of mostly rolling hills through Plainfield and Canterbury. At times the climbs were challenging for us on the tandem, but for the most part we were able to maintain a good pace within the group. There were a few stops along the way too, which allowed us short breaks. At one stop, there was an alpaca farm and the animals came up to the fence to greet us. I was delighted and snapped a couple of pictures.  As the route progressed, we actually passed other riders -- nine times out of ten, going downhill!

Every now and then, someone would shout out, "Draft that tandem!" as we passed. We get that a lot, and we certainly don't mind if anyone wants to hang onto our wheel.

Wrapping up the ride back at Simon's Bike and Brew, hot coffee was served. We had a chance to talk at length with more folks from the group. We were invited to join next Saturday's ride, but it's my daughter's birthday -- and it looks like snow or rain could be in the forecast. This was a great ride, and we are definitely planning to join up with this great cycling group again soon!