Another perfect day for a ride. I was hoping for a fun event, and this one did not disappoint.

I’ve been riding the Tour de Talbot for the last few years. I’ve come to enjoy it. It’s a flat ride with a ferry trip across the Tred Avon river in the middle. You can choose 30, 40 or 62 miles – I chose the 40. I could ride a full metric century, but I have to admit that my training hasn’t been good for long distances of late, and I see this tour as a more relaxed affair. Usually.

I have a friend from Virginia named Stephanie who is a natural born social director. She has been riding the TDT for as long as I have, with a big group that she has introduced me to. I ride with them, or at least we all start out that way. Big groups have a way of expanding, and you never know who you’ll run into at such an event. Some of the group follows me on Strava, and though Steph wasn’t there because she’s training for the Reston Triathlon, the group was looking for me.

Last year a fellow named Warren rode with us. He had a heavy bike and he didn’t ride with us the whole way. This year he found me. He had done a LOT of training and had a new Trek Domane to ride. I agreed to ride with him. He had become a road monster. He put it down to the new bike – but that wasn’t the case. It was the rider, not the bike. We were going the same distance, so we rode together. We rode a remarkably consistent pace, starting with the metric riders from the bigger group. They were going at a good clip in a line, and that pace suited us for the first 12 or 13 miles until the routes split. We rode together at a strong pace for the rest of the TDT.

At the first stop an old friend named Dave Robare found me. We hadn’t talked in years. The cycling community is a small group. After a brief stop, Warren and I headed for the ferry feeling good and riding strong. The wild card was wind, or what my good friend Ron calls “the eastern shore mountains”. It was supposed to build as the day progressed. On the way to Oxford and the ferry, the wind was in our faces. Still we found ourselves holding an 18-20 mph speed and passing quite a few riders. There was a rest stop in Oxford at the ferry landing, and after a brief wait we were on the ferry. The final miles were fun. Warren decided to pull past a group of riders and I picked up the pace to join him. Later I decided to drop an annoying wheel sucker, and he pulled in with me. We worked well together at speed. There are times when riding hard can be great fun. We returned to the start after a strong ride. Beer and food awaited us. It’s hard not to look forward to next year’s TDT when you have a good time like this!