Here is a photo of the cyclists getting on the Edmonds Ferry.....and, yes, they all got on!
After quite a bit of fooling around, we did get the Post Foo group together for a quick photo shoot - this would be the last time all day we were all together!
In the photo from L to R: Pete, Sally, Becky, Jake, Tim, the Matt, and me (in a terrible pose!)
So somewhat later in the morning, we were finally rolling! First, I was passed by Matt, then Sally, then Tim, and then the tandem (Jake and Becky) but still was in front of Pete - kind of unusual as he has been smoking me on the hills lately but maybe too much partying last night for him? I waited up until he caught up and we rode together for a short distance when he said the "clicking" sound as he pedaled was really worrisome to him - seemed to be pretty continuous as we cycled along. So we pulled over and did a bike check expecting as usual not to find anything easily as "clicking" sources are notoriously difficult to locate to remedy....He rides a travel bike version of a touring bike (a second bike of mine) which uses S&S frame couplers to hold the bike together (and which allow easy disassembly for packing for travel). To my shock and surprise, the lower coupler turned freely with just finger pressure indicating that it had lost all locking torque!! Of course, I didn't have the special tool along to tighten the couplers since we have not seen this happen over the last couple of years. But, having the frame come apart when you are going down a hill at 30+ mph would qualify as a safety hazard. Mom would not forgive me ever if I let something like that happen to our son!! I tightened the coupler by hand (not a satisfactory method for safety), and decided to head back to the mechanic at the start (about 3 miles) rather than head away from support on a 50+ mile ride! As soon as we started re-riding, Pete noted that the clicking had stopped, sort of validating the source of the clicking sound. By the time we got to the mechanic and have reviewed the various options, Pete (and I) felt that the issue was serious enough to justify getting the right tool and doing a good inspection of the joint prior to continuing the ride for the day. So we opted to shorten the ride and return to the ferry after texting a couple of the Foo Folks to let them know we were bailing and why.
Later I heard that Tim hit some gravel on a turn and took a nasty spill, broke a spoke badly, and bruised (I hope that is all) his shoulder - B&J gave him a ride back to the ferry. So quite a bit of carnage (or the possibility of such) on such a blue bird perfect fall day!
Getting back early, the bride was out (why would she expect me back so early?), so I called a buddy who had expressed interest in getting into cycling more, and suggested he dust-off his 1880's era mountain bike and go for a ride. We did a short 12 mile flat loop as an introductory ride and.....surprise! we ended up by the bicycle department at the local REI so he could start to see what a modern bike might look like - and a road bike at that. He got pretty excited when he picked up a new bike compared to the weight of what he was riding. I assured him that biking was not like that tres chic fly fishing where rods, reels, gear, etc is very costly - no, biking is a very cheap sport (at least that should be his first approach to selling this on the home front......). We'll have to see....
Finally got home late in the afternoon after a very odd day but one that worked out - no accidents, no damage (to me or Pete and hopefully Tim is okay), and maybe we have an emerging new cyclist? That can't be all bad!
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