FLCC> Straits Corners Sunday Ride

[Brenda Smith]

Scorching.  That was the word to describe yesterday's club ride.

About 20 of us met at the HSBC parking lot at 9am to defy the heat
radiating from the black pavement below, and the wilting rays of
sunlight beating down from above us.  Temps were either close to 90 or
above, it was humid, and ample sunshine prevailed until the last 10 or
so miles of the ride.

Marilyn Dispensa and I decided to leave a few minutes ahead of the
rest of the group, both feeling that most of the pack would blast by
us within a few minutes anyway.  "Let's just take this easy."
"There's no point in wearing ourselves out."  "This is going to be a
long ride." were the mutual remarks we shared as we cranked our way up
Ellis Hollow Road.  As we turned right onto Thomas Rd., the rest of
the group was still no where in sight behind us.  "Maybe they took
Ellis Hollow Creek and went up that way?" we thought aloud to each
other.

Ambling down Lounsberry Rd., we spotted a huge snapping turtle sitting
by the side of the road.  We stopped to gape at it for a minute or
two, during which time, Marilyn told me that Misty McPhee, who was
riding with the pack, was a reptile person and would be thrilled to
see this.  We got back in the saddle and took off, and at that moment
saw the pack bearing down upon us.  "What took you guys so long???" I
teased when they finally caught up to us.  They told us that we'd, in
fact, set off at a pretty good pace, despite Marilyn's and my shared
feeling to "take it easy," and we had provided them with a good chase.

We headed up White Church, and Marilyn and I blended in with the front
of the pack.  I found it amazing how much less work I was doing, yet
how much faster I was going, while being pulled along by all the other
riders.   We headed down into Candor and stopped at the convenience
store to catch anyone doing the shorter version of the ride, top off
our fluids, and regroup.

Soon we were off and heading up Staits Corners rd., the first real
climb of the ride.  It was a long, gradual climb up out of Candor.  I
dropped off the back of the group and held a very slow, but steady,
8mph pace up the hill.  Chris circled 'round eventually to join me and
encourage me up the hill.  We took in the hillside surrounding us, and
Chris remarked how beautiful it was.  The wind rippled "waves" through
the long grasses in the fields.  The generous breeze was also
providing some relief from the sun, which by now was straight overhead
and shining relentlessly down on us.  We finally peaked the hill and
began a rolly descent down to Halsey Valley Rd., catching Doug and
Ritchie along the way.  Chris increased his pace to catch the more
moderate paced group, while I followed at a more relaxed pace, trying
to keep him within eyeshot, but not necessarily trying to keep up with
him.

We regrouped at Halsey Valley Rd. a road along which I saw another
large turtle sitting along the side, although this one was not a
snapper.  By now the group had pared down to Tom, Misty, Marilyn,
Doug, Ritchie, Chris, Steve Bowman, Sam, and myself.  I think that's
it, but if I've missed anyone, just blame in on my heat-stroked
memory.  Halsey Valley Rd. provided fun rolling riding to the
outskirts of Spencer, where we picked up two more riders from the
first group:  Don and a gentleman with a British-sounding accent whose
name I didn't get.  We rested underneath the shade of a large tree in
someone's yard while waiting for everyone to regroup.  Then we headed
down East Spencer Rd. and then 96 back to Candor.  These are flat
roads, and we were able to get our paceline formed again and had a
fairly effortless ride back into Candor, especially with a strong
tailwind pushing us along.  At the convenience store in Candor, we met
up with some riders from the first group and plotted our return to
Ithaca.

It was rumored that there were some in the first group who still had
enough energy to tackle the hills of Krumtown Rd., and so they
returned via that option.  It was eventually decided that we would
return via Prospect Valley and up through Shindagin Hollow, which is a
dirt road some FLCC riders had taken on a group ride a few weeks
earlier.  As we were heading up Shindagin Hollow, black thunderclouds
rolled in, and the skies opened up.  Raindrops fell gently at first
and were quite welcome.  I imagined I could almost hear the hiss and
sizzle of the raindrops as they hit my overheated skin.  But soon the
raindrops came faster and harder, and we sought shelter beneath a
tree, again, in someone's yard.  After 5 minutes or so, the rain let
up, and we were able to resume a muddy, but slightly cooler, ride up
through the forest of Shindagin Hollow.  When we reached the other
side of the hollow, the rain came down hard again, and we found a
little shed with a nice overhang where we could all stand without
getting too wet.

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful as we headed back Central
Chapel rd, to Boiceville, back to 79, to Thomas, and finally back on
Ellis Hollow rd.  All in all, we ended up with close to 70 miles
because of our two treks into Candor.  Afterwards, my son and I headed
over to Taughannock Park, where we quickly cooled off in the 60-some
degree waters of Cayuga Lake and then headed over to Not-My-Dad's in
Trumansburg, for a well-earned sweet reward!