BVC-CHAT The Weekend (lots of thanks for Thanksgiving)

[Shawn Hokanson]

I want to second the thanks to Willie for the great route plan; Without his
work, I probably wouldn't have considered a long non-paved ride, and would
have missed a lot of nice scenery and a very relaxing day.  I also bailed
out early; I'll probably finish the route at a later date to see what I
missed, and I look forward to the next TdD ride on 12/19/04.

Shawn Hokanson, 979-229-8253
May the pavement be smooth and the wind at your back


-----Original Message-----
From: bvc-chat-bounces at philebus.tamu.edu
[mailto:bvc-chat-bounces at philebus.tamu.edu] On Behalf Of Jean Marie Linhart
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 9:39 AM
To: bvc-chat at philebus.tamu.edu
Subject: BVC-CHAT The Weekend (lots of thanks for Thanksgiving)


I had an awesome weekend.  American Flyers plus irreverant commentary was a
blast.  The peloton riders looked like they were told to ride close but that
someone in the group had cooties -- and it was catching.  It was an equal
opportunity movie too -- just as much exposed flesh for the women to admire
as the men, and maybe more, if I saw what I think I saw in the opening
shots.  ;)

Tour de Dirt was an awesome ride.  Wish I'd had energy to do more of it.  We
took a look at the map (acquired at Saturday's flagpole ride) and determined
the ride was "All (paved) roads lead to Anderson", so I dropped my vehicle
in Anderson and Shawn took me to the ride start. Did 30+ miles before
heading back in for the vehicle by known routes. (About 40 miles for the day
at a very moderate pace).

One of the things I really like about bicycling is that I get to see all the
back roads and routes.  I get to see the pretty parts of the world, the
parts that others usually miss.  The dirt rides are like this in spades, you
are really away from the beaten track, almost no traffic, pretty scenery.
It was doable on a road bike, I was very comfortable on my fat tired,
lightly-suspended commuting machine.

I don't know that I would have explored without the organization from Willie
-- especially the route planning.  I really appreciate that.  I had a great
time.  Thank you.

If anyone wants to do something similar for the next Tour de Dirt (Dec 19?),
moderate pace for mountain bikes, and planning bail-out points with a
vehicle, please email the chat or contact likely suspects (like
me) privately.

Some of the guys did do the ride on road bikes with what seemed to me to be
regular road tires, by the way.  I think I was happier (but definitely
slower) on my machine, though.

I also really appreciate everyone who has done social events this past year,
either via agitating to get me off my duff, or opening up a home to a bunch
of us.  All the stuff we've done has been fun.  I love having a busy social
calendar full of activities and people and lots of laughs.

Jean Marie
Always be cautious in mentioning food around bicyclists...





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