Buddy stopped by in his big black truck to give Gary, Dave_C, Dennis and Scotti the weather report from the latest radar.  "A lot of yellow stuff and some red stuff!  It's in Aiken now and coming this way."  Thanks Buddy!

    We decided on the regular route since we could cut it short if either yellow stuff or red stuff became a factor.  It wasn't too bad until we stopped at the lake and heard some thunder in the distance to the west.

    Scotti gave everybody a strong and steady pull for the entire ride out to the lake and back to Lynam Road.  At that point the it was starting to rain so we decided to call it a day.  Dave made a 180 back to his neighborhood, Gary split off halfway up Loring Mill and into his subdivision, while Scotti and Dennis worked our way back to the station feeling very much like we were in a portable bike and rider wash.

Ya cain't have great weather every time!

Today's ride was a little wild. A heavy wind from the West and we set off towards up Patriot Parkway at 18 mph, leaving several people at the station who were being social and entirely missed the start. Catching up that that pace was hard work.

Scotti brought along 4-5 riders (Matt, Rex, and others) who planned to ride 60-70 miles. They left the main group in the dust and by the time the main group got to 261, Scotti's group was nowhere to be seen. After crossing 378, there were only 5 riders left.  Bob, Dave_C, Gary, Steve, and Dennis.  Dave took most of the riders on a "New" way to Horatio and turned right at the first road north of 367. Dennis, (knowing Horatio was not in that direction), went a 1/2 mile further and took a left!  Guess what?  Nobody found Horatio! Everybody made it home OK.

   Gary, Dave_C, and Dennis figured "Looks OK to me!", and set out on the normal route. They encountered some pretty high winds, but had a great time on the tailwind segments, maintaining 23-24 near Sumter High.

    The weather turned out to be great!

    Stopping at Spann's store, we noticed the old (Lucky Strike) mixed with the new (Coke-Zero). Kinda like our group huh? ;)

    If they have Coke-Zero's in the store that look as tempting as this come August, they are going to sell a heap!

      The folks that rode are Rex, Gary, Steve and myself.  We rode the regular route at a pace the averaged for me at 15.6 mph.  I rode for 22 miles and the other three completed the ride of 28 miles.

     The weather was about 45 - 47 degrees by the time we got to the lake/pond it was a little warmer. The body temperature at that time also had risen. The group rode at a great pace. We hit the incline on Pinewood Road  at a quick pace, we rode up the incline between 17.8 and 18.6.  That is when they began to pull away from me. 

     It was a good ride and we are looking for others to come out, as the weather gets warmer.

     Tim returned to ride with us. Glad to have him along.  Two new riders showed up, Henry and Rex.  They have ridden extensively before and are welcome additions.  We hope they both will be regulars.

Rex, Dave, and Henry roll up to the lake.

The strong sunlight gave the lake a stunning metallic blue color.

Photos by Bob and Dennis

We stopped on the bridge as usual.  This was BEFORE the rain started.  Dennis, Dave_H, Allan, Ken, and Dave_C.  Gary and Bob, out of frame.

Photos by Bob

When it started to come down good, most of us found the short route back home.  Bob and Dennis persevered until we got back to the BP.  Since it eased up a little by then, we went over to check out the donated bike stand.  The area in the picture below will be where we gather for our rides now.

         This spot makes us more visible to drivers on both streets and to the people getting gas, etc.  It should help promote our rides a little more (we hope).  If we can find a good price on a small sign, we will put one on the bike stand telling new riders they can meet us here and
"Rides Are Open to the Public".

Eight riders left the BP in 50 degree weather with a forecast for rain. No rain and the ride was great.  Dave Cruz suggested a ride to Horatio.  North on Hwy 261, across Hwy 76/378, and then a left turn to Horatio.

There was one awesome hill.
It was really easy or really hard,
depending on which way you were going.

Stopping at the Horatio Store,
Steve samples a new sports drink.
SER riders always manage to have fun!

Bob, Gary, Don-"Sandman", Steve, Dave Cruz, Theresa, Dave

Pictures provided by Bob and Scotti.

The scenery was beautiful, weather was 40 degrees and 15 mph.

A sunny day on beautiful Highway 17S from Charleston

Here are 14 happy riders, (including Bob, taking the picture).
Mary Sue (who has ridden with SER several times)is second from the right.

None of the regular SER riders rode from the BP on this day with cold, wet, windy weather, but several of us supported the Boy Scout 50 mile ride.  Scottie organized this ride which gave each Scout a merit badge.

Adult riders lead the way. Mike on the far left.

If you're not the lead dog,
the scenery never changes!

Pictures by Scotti

Four riders, Gary, Scottie, Dave_C and Dennis left in cold temperatures on a ride to the lake. It warmed quickly and by the time we got to the lake we started to pull off some winter gear.

A couple of weeks ago the lake was glassy smooth. On this day, it was mirror smooth. Check out this picture. The long white lines are reflections of contrails in the sky!

This lake looks different every time we see it.

On the leg to Spann's, Scottie gave us some lessons on:

How to ride a good pace line.

• Don't overlap tires with the rider ahead.  You do so at your own peril.  Your front tire will lose in a battle with a rear tire ahead of you.

• Make it clear you are pulling to the side and giving up the lead.

• Leader must always be steady.  Accordions and pace lines don't mix well.  Don't pedal, coast, pedal, coast, pedal, coast.

• When you become the leader, it is not your chance to speed up.  The previous leader simply moves to the back as the pace line stays steady. 

• As the leader, you are the most important rider in the pace line.  The safety of the line is your responsibility.  Point out road hazards, walkers, joggers, and parked cars ahead.  Don't slow up suddenly.  Signal turns and stops.  Know the route, plan and perform lane changes and road crossings carefully.  When pulling away from a stop, let the line reform behind you before resuming pace.

Leaving Spann's, Dennis went ahead to get some pictures of the other riders.  He waited at Hwy 441 and St Paul's Church Road.  It's interesting how drivers behave when a person with a camera in his hand stands by an intersection.  Nobody ran a red light, everybody looked in both directions before starting across the intersection, no speeding......

   Here are Scotti and Gary cruising back to the BP on 441 near St Paul's Church Road.  The weather at this point was sunny and warm.

Pictures by Dennis

The forecast rain amounted to only a few light sprinkles.  It didn't even make puddles on the road.  The temperature was in the 50's, wind was light, and the ride was fun (as it always is).

Bob, Mary Sue, Scotti, Mike, Dennis, Steve, Theresa, Gary, Dave, and Dave_C showed up for the ride.

Bob and Dave arrive at the lake.

Scotti and Mike come in with Dave_C

Theresa leads Steve to the lake.

The lake was very flat again this week. So flat, it was hard to tell if the house on the east end was clearer looking at the house or at it's reflection.

Pictures by Dennis

   The ride was in a strong, cold, wind, but 5 riders decided what was a headwind on one leg would be a tailwind on another.  They were right!

   Ken, Allen, Bob, Dave, and Dennis took the ride to the lake.  When we got there we saw whitecaps on it for the first time ever.

Somebody noticed that we had quite a few Specialized bikes in our group.  Photo Op! Ken, Allen and Dennis.

The wind was mostly a cross-wind until we turned onto McCray's' Mill Rd, (after the stop at the lake).  We picked up a nice tailwind and the leg was quite comfortable, but we got paid back with a headwind out to Spann's on Wedgefield Hwy.

   On the last leg, we were hopeful of a getting a good tailwind when we got to Hwy 441.  We got lucky, a strong and steady tailwind all the way home.  Bob hit 31+ in a pace line with Allen and Ken.  Dave and Dennis arrived at the BP soon after, running at 24+.

   All in all, we agreed this was the windiest day anyone had ridden in. - - - but it was worth it!

For the last ride of the year, we had a group of three unexpected riders meet us at the start, but they went on a ride to Camden.  The BP must be a good place to meet?  Mike and Scotti introduced themselves and then left on the "Metric Century".  All three riders were very experienced.

Bob, Gary, and Dennis went on our normal ride to the lake and back.  The weather was a balmy 47 degrees.  There was some wind from time to time and we used it to cruise along at 22-23 for a while.  We enjoyed some sun for the last hour.  As the ride ended, it turned cloudy and windy, so we got the best weather of the day. No rain.

Below, Dennis celebrates the New Year a little early.

Here is Mary Sue on the new bridge in Charleston.  She started the New Year off right, making the bridge ride on January 1, 2006!  Mary Sue has ridden with the Sumter Easy Riders before and it was a pleasure to have her join us.  Sometime, we might take a special trip to Charleston for this ride. Picture by Bob.

Ken, Dave, Allen, Dennis, Jim (a visitor from North Carolina and a very good rider), Mary Sue, and Gary.  We rode to Pinewood and back, 40 miles.

Photo by Bob

OK, maybe another minute or two in the sun wouldn't hurt.
Bob in the picture.

Photo by Allen

Allen, Martin, Ken, Dave, Gary, and Dave_C by F. J. Delane school.