Our longest ride this season has been 22 miles but we talked ourselves into going for the 41 miler today and, for the most part, that was a pretty good call. Once out of town we were soon off on the kind of road that I just love. Plenty of climbs but reasonable grades and not too long, gradual downhills, and lots of shade and scenery; glorious! First stop was a fish hatchery about 10 miles into the ride. Nice opportunity for a bathroom break and a shared banana.
At 20 miles, we stopped at the VIC, a nature center at Paul Smith’s College.
The AC inside was most welcome at that point and good thing we availed ourselves of the bathroom facilities as they were the last we would see. Beautiful view from the porch at the back.
We didn’t explore the exhibits because we had heard that the post ride social would be starting around noon and we’re not exactly speed demons on the bike!
That was it for stops. Ride back was on nice back roads until the last 7 miles where it was a busy two lane with just barely enough shoulder and not a heck of a lot of shade. Not a big deal for 7 miles but we were both tired and my stoker butt was real, real unhappy.
All in all a great day on the tandem and we had a very nice time at the post ride party. Lindy and Rich Shapiro from Gear-To-Go are just great and the group is super friendly. 44 miles, 2400 feet of climbing. Not bad. 20 miler planned for tomorrow