Friday evening we packed up some bags, put the tandem on the car, told the kids to hold the for and set off for Westford. We got kind of a late start so we didn't get there until around 9:00 - a little late for the ice cream social at Kimball's, the local ice cream "farm". We checked in to the hotel and then checked in at the rally desk. They said that Kimball's was still open and we had free coupons in the registration package so we put the tandem in one of the holding rooms - the first one was full - and headed over for some ice cream. It was actually down right chilly out so ice cream wasn't exactly the best thing so we went back to the hotel.
The next morning, they had a breakfast buffet so we got our plates and experienced the familiar "Hmm, everyone else seems to know everyone and is sitting in groups having a great time and we know nobody" feeling. So, we sat down with some people and started talking and had a nice breakfast.
One of the things that I found strange about the rally at first was that there was no set start time. Basically, they gave you a route sheet and said lunch was at such and such a place from around 11:30 to 1:00. The idea was that people would form little groups and leave when they wanted to. Since we didn't know anyone, we just sort of finished up breakfast, got our stuff on and got on the bike. There were people dribbling onto the road so we just joined in. They had several routes that could be combined to give you different total milage for the day. Basically, there was a 43 mile and a 23 mile route to the lunch stop and an 8 mile, 30 mile, and 46 mile route back to the hotel. We really hadn't ridden much more than about 30 miles during our rides this summer so we were wondering if we should do the 22 to lunch and then 8 back but it seemed like most people were doing the 30 mile ride back so we decided to do that.
We started off with a small group of tandems but they were kind of poking along so we gradually left them and caught various other people along the way. Just as we caught up to the organizers - who were riding a triple - they turned into the parking lot of the Minuteman Park. This is the place where the first shots were fired in the Revolutionary War. We got off the bike and walked through the small museum and then down to the bridge where it all started. It wasn't really that spectacular but still pretty cool to be at the spot where it all started.
We got back on the bike and cruised the rest of the way to lunch. We were among the first to arrive and were a bit early so we just talked to the mechanic who happens to work in the bike shop where we got our tandem. I probably should mention the ride sheets. Deb was the Navigator and she had to read the route sheet and keep us on track. She kept the sheet folded up in my back jersey pocket and would pull it out and let me know the mileage at the next turn. So she would call out "OK, at 6.9 miles, turn left on Nagog Hill road". I had zeroed the computer at the start so I just needed to look for the turn at the appropriate mile reading. Except that 15 seconds after she announced the information, it was completely gone from my brain. It wasn't just me either - she would forget what she just said too. So she was constantly pulling the sheet from my pocket and finding the line for the next turn. She was doing all this all while we are blasting down hills and grinding up others. Some clever teams simply pin the route sheet to the back of the captains jersey but after she thought about this, she said that that wouldn't work since she couldn't see the writing without getting it just right in the bifocal area of her glasses. To top it all off, I like to stand up sometimes when going up hills and, of course, I would announce that we were standing just as she had pulled out the route sheet so she had to deal with that as well. All in all though, we didn't get lost. We only really missed one turn and that was because the sign was hidden behind a tree.
At lunch we sat with some people who we recognized from the time we went on a ride with the TBONEs (Tandem Bicyclists Of New England). We finished our lunch and got back on the bike and started off for the 30 mile ride back. At one point, we were working together with another team - each trading pulls and going pretty good. As we were motoring along behind them, they went over a big sewer drain and flatted big time. We were lucky we didn't flat as well. We stopped to help but they said they had all they needed and told us to go on. We were just a mile or so from a stop at the Butterfly Place - a place we had taken the kids when they were little. We pulled in but didn't really feel like going in. As we were cooling it in the parking lot, the couple from breakfast came in. They didn't want to go in either so we both mounted back up and go on the road. We road with them for quite awhile (we would drop them on the uphills and I would soft pedal to let them catch up) until they stopped for a "Butt-break". We were also feeling pretty sore but didn't want to stop for fear of not being able to get started again. We managed to make it back to the hotel without incident.
Once back, we hit the hot tub and chatted with another couple for a bit. Dinner was another buffet thing and we sat at a table with the people we ate lunch with and several other couples and really had a good time talking with them. After dinner, they had door prizes and everybody at our table won something - pretty cool. We won two pairs of "tandem" socks.
Sunday was a quick 30 mile route followed by checkout and a BBQ at the hotel. The ride was a bit hillier than on Saturday but generally not as hilly as our normal rides so we didn't really have a problem. We were among the first to the first stop atop a large hill at the Fruitlands Museum which was a Shaker fruit farm/museum. Unfortunately, it wasn't open. By the time we found out it was closed, a large pack of bikes had arrived so we hooked up with them for a fast downhill run. It's nice riding with a group because you can just follow them and not worry about when and where to turn - theoretically. We were blasting down the road on the tail end of a group and the main group went straight but the people in front of us insisted that we needed to make a left turn. We hadn't been keeping track so we weren't sure so we followed them. Deb quickly got the route sheet out and realized that we should have gone straight. By that time though, the pack was gone and we had to chase. Meanwhile, Wrong Way Larry caught back up to us and got in front. A few mile down the road, Deb calls out that we need to make a left turn on such and such a road. I see it coming up but Larry blasts on through. We turn left and a few minutes later, Larry and Sally come cranking by.
By the time we got back to the hotel, we were pretty tired and sore. 83 miles total over the two days isn't bad for us and we were pretty happy. Lunch was good and we sat with a couple from dinner and the couple from breakfast.
All in all it was a fun time.
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