by Weeks ago Tyler S. said he was interested in riding a day zero on the Friday of PMC weekend. “How about a century? Maybe to New Hampshire.”
It didn’t take much more than those few words from a partner-in-crime to get me going. The first route was too long and too mountainous. The second draft was perfect.
Would it just be the two of us? No. Tyler convinced brother Stew. I grabbed Sava, Miggy, Cathy, JT and Gunny for this PMC warm-up.
The weather was great. The company was great.
I screwed up the fight for the first state line sprint battle. I wanted a picture. The boys wanted a battle. I won the war, but lost the battle.
I was uncertain of the route in New Hampshire. I hadn’t ridden on many of the roads. The route turned out to be just fine.
Lunch was at the wonderful Moulton’s Market in Amherst. The town square is a classic New England town square, excruciatingly perfect. You might think it was a movie set. The market makes great subs, has barrels full of pickles and a great assortment of beverages. It’s going to be a regular stop for me when riding through southern New Hampshire.
What I missed in the route planning was that the few hills on the route were on the second half of the ride. The sun had come out, the temperatures were rising, and we were climbing hills with no shade to hide under. At least I had great company for the suffering.
I knew at the end of the ride we had Tyler’s pool waiting to cool off from the heat. He also had his PMC jerseys lining the front yard as a tribute. He will have to take one of those down for Saturday’s ride.
