Fall Fling 2007 - Another Perspective
By Jerry Neville
Another great OBS ride, with great people, weather, route and food. No negatives for me. First day was flat, very little wind and just the right temp. I was on my Koga Myata touring bike so I had two bags to carry essentials, phone, bars, tools, a rain jacket to keep it from raining, camera, etc. It was Barby’s birthday. She’s *%$#@ years old. Was going to ride with her and Lynette but we got separated. Royce was with them. On the way back it just happened that Mary and I got a little ahead of the rest of the group we were with. I knew Mary was a strong rider so I figured I would see how strong she was. I kept upping the pace just a little bit to see if she’d hang. She did until we got so far ahead of Kurt, she was worried he’d miss a turn and get lost.
Pot luck dinner was great. I had at least two, Suzanne Cannon and Diana Lerma, who made something with my weird diet in mind. I think that’s really pretty typical of the way OBS members take care of each other. Moni made the proverbial spaghetti with marinara sauce for me.
After the dinner I asked Mary if she wanted to ride the triplet with me
tomorrow. April had already said she would. I was looking for strong riders to
push me up the hills I knew we would be doing the next day. April rode the
middle and Mary was the navigator. Only 20 miles to breakfast so I didn’t figure
I’d need water till we got there. Took an empty bottle to fill at the
restaurant. Forgot to fill it at the restaurant and headed out without water
again. Not a big problem until we learned Mary was somewhat map challenged.
(After the ride I learned there were apparently several map challenged persons
in OBS as a few others got in some extra miles.) Anyway the temp started to rise
and I began to get thirsty. We made a few wrong turns, some my fault and some
someone else’s. I knew the girls had to be getting tired too but I couldn’t ask
for their water. Anyway we finally made the convenience store and all was right
with the world again. We got 49.9 mph down the hill. Mary closed her eyes. April
just looked at her speedometer. April was disappointed when she saw 49 mph and I
touched the brake.
Mary and April, I promise the next time we ride together on the triplet it will be a flat day and it will be much more pleasant. Good training day though, huh? Thanks for a great ride.
A Ride on “The” Triplet: A Stoker’s Perspective
By Mary Barron
It was dusk when I walked up to the circle of OBS campers. Moni asked, “Tell us, Mary, why did you get into cycling?” My response: “Well, I’ve been waiting all this time for Jerry to ask me to ride his triplet with him, and now – finally my life is complete!” Several chuckles from the group ensued. It was about an hour earlier, just after the famous potluck dinner, when Jerry had approached me. Nonchalantly he asked, “Do you want to ride with me & April tomorrow?” I didn’t immediately understand the correlation. He must have seen the confusion on my face, because he quickly clarified, “On the triplet.” I couldn’t believe my ears! Of course I would! You’d have to be crazy not to accept that kind of invitation! After all, “It” was the Cadillac (Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, etc) of all the bikes I’ve ever seen..
The 45 mile Sunday route was touted to be hillier than the Saturday ride. I was a little worried. I’d only ridden a tandem once, and never a triplet, much less on hills. Jerry got our saddles & peddles put on, and after a few adjustments we took it for a trial spin. Everything seemed to be in order. April casually mentioned to me that she hadn’t been on her bike for some 2 months prior to the Saturday ride. That further compounded my apprehensiveness relative to my abilities on this most awesome bike. But I knew Jerry was strong. I didn’t want to be the liability of the group though. I’d ridden behind Barbie & Lynette (Jerry’s normal stokers) for quite a while on Saturday & knew how strong they were (not to mention how much smaller & lighter they are!). Questions arose in my mind – could I do as well as they do?
Sunday came & we mounted the bike. With the first take-off pedal stroke, my knee hit the handle bars. I was about 5 inches taller than Lynette, who normally sits on the back. Never the less, we got going. We seemed to pass each group with ease! I was amazed. I was peddling hard on the hills. In the humidity of the morning, sweat began dripping into my eyes. In fact, by the time we reached the restaurant in Sapulpa, I was absolutely drenched in sweat. My thighs were burning, but a sense of satisfaction overwhelmed me. We’d made it half way. And we’d made it to the breakfast stop before anyone else. Of course, there was that infernal parrot on the handlebars (sorry Lynette!). If it wasn’t pecking April in the butt, it was hitting me in the knee with its tail with every pedal stroke.
We all devoured pancakes before heading back to Keystone Lake State Park. On one steep downhill we reached 49.9 mph, before Jerry put the brakes on. I had to keep my head down on that one. Ask Kurt or Wilton about how well I like going down hills fast. Then there was the incident where I do believe at least a couple of people would have liked to have had my head after I (the navigator) took us 3 miles off course, up several hills, and caused us to have to ride back into a strong headwind. They were kind about the faux pas, however, and I quickly relinquished my map so that a more accomplished navigator could take over (thanks, April!). We ended up with 52 miles for the day. But truly, I believe I’ve never ridden quite so hard before! Thank you, Jerry, for a ride to remember!
Click here for Lynn Key's Fall Fling 2007 story
Oklahoma Bicycle Society:
Fall Fling 2007 - Another Perspective
created by John Wente
last modified:
March 21, 2012
URL: http://www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com