New Years Day

Yesterday was New Years Day and unbelievably, we had a choice of different group ride routes and miles! Temperatures topped at 53 degrees, and the sun was shining. There were two rides posted that we were considering. One was 54 miles and a good portion of those miles was up hill. Dave's been sick with a lot of congestion and a cough with a sore throat, so when we saw another ride posted by the "C" riders from the Thread City Cyclists for 38 miles, we thought it would be a better option.

The TCC "C" Riders took a quick break along the way.

We met at a school parking lot and there were 12 of us in all. We started out at 11 a.m. I was surprised to find as we went along the route, that much of this ride was up hill too! With all that climbing, Dave and I were peeling off the layers. One thing that's evident on a sunny and unusually warm day in January, is that no one was quite sure how to dress appropriately. Dave was actually down to wearing just a jersey by the midpoint of the ride!

We stopped for lunch at a cafe-general store, Coriander Cafe, in the small town of Eastford, CT. By that time, many of us had felt the effects of the climbing, and we lingered inside, relaxing a little longer than usual. By the time we were back outside (I was putting my outer layer back on!) we suddenly realized that we had only about an hour of daylight left!

We ended up splitting into two groups for the race back to the parking lot before dark. Dave and I made it back at the front of the pack, and feeling glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy such a day at this time of year!

Here I am, smiling at a point when we took a break from climbing!