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Notes from the Ride Committee meeting

Well, it had to happen sooner for later: the Anchor House Ride For Runaways Committee met last night after what seemed an eternity away from the table and there's news to report. First, get out your calendars and be prepared to mark 'em because we have a date, time and location for the annual Video Party. That would be Monday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. at Katmandu in Trenton.

You'll want to be there, because on that very night, we'll be unveiling the route for the 2010 Ride. We heard some details of the route last night, when Brian McLaughlin reported that he and route consultant Ken Sharples had pretty much nailed down four days of the route and had made significant progress on the other three. All I can tell you at this point is that we're heading south to the departure point, but many of the handful of readers knew that already, I'm guessing.

One highlight of last night was a special guest appearance by Mr. Pete Garnich, our wrench extraordinaire from Knapp's Cyclery, who approached us with ideas about how the shop can help enhance the riding experience of all participants through bike fittings and other services. One thing we all learned was that the coming months are the best time to have your bike serviced since many shops discount the prices of overhauls and other maintenance during slower times. So consult you LBS or visit Knapp's for details.

Energized from its reunion meeting, the committee decided it will go for two in a row and meet next month on Nov. 9. Speaking of two in a row, let's all get our scorecards out and note that this marks two in a row for the blog in its temporary home. Tomorrow: why Covered Bridges is the best one-day ride in our area not affiliated with Anchor House.

Performance review

OK, so now I know I’m in trouble. DeWayne Tolbert checked in last week to ask just what the heck has become of this blog. It’d been a month since I’d written anything and while I had had inquiries from my two other readers during that time – people who’d checked in to see it I’d been feeling well – this was different. This was the president of Anchor House Board of Trustees, the inspirational speaker, the Jefferson Award-winner. In short, it was the boss and he didn’t sound happy.

Well, I did an um-in-ah, um-in-ah, um-in-ah thing because I didn’t have a really good reason other than overload at work. I know, I know, that’s kind of lame; everyone who is fortunate enough to be employed is now overworked here in grateful-to-have-a-job America. But the truth is I just didn’t have the energy in the evening to do much of anything. I was blog-blocked.

But that missive from the boss really jolted me from my slumber. That, and running into AR yesterday while out on a ride. After sharing a greeting, then realizing we were blocking egress on Moore Street, AR departed, calling from her car behind her, “I really miss your blog.” That did it. I knew I’d have to start writing again.

The timing is good, too, because tonight the Anchor House Ride for Runaways Committee will be meeting for the first time in what seems forever. So I might have some actual news to relay instead of random ramblings loosely related to cycling. Plus, this coming weekend is Covered Bridges and I’ll be riding again. George leaves for a 24-day tour of New England on Friday, which should free up late October and early November for end-of-season rides and there’s talk of a Dim Tim Ride on Halloween.

Now that I’ve gotten rolling here, it actually feels good to be blogging again. I know I’ve scared off my half-dozen readers, but maybe an FB post will bring back a few. I’ll be tweeting from tomorrow’s Ride for Runaways Committee meeting, so if you’d like to follow along, I’ll be using the hashtag #anchorhouseride.

See you on the road. And here, too. I promised DeWayne, after all.