Second Annual Fall Finale Country Path Ramble

I rode with Chris of Pondero blog, and a few other friends, some old, some new, on the stone roads between Sanger and Rosston, Texas. This started last year as a get-together of local bicycle bloggers, with only about a half dozen riders. I actually didn't make it since we had to attend a wedding.

Things worked out in 2010 and I was able to make the Ramble this year. So did a lot of others, as over two dozen people made the trek to Sanger for the privilege of riding the stone roads.



After a pre-ride pep talk from Chris,



Off we went.



The pavement got a little rougher,



It wasn't long before we got out on the gravel.





The jackrabbits went on ahead, but Chandra and I took Chris's description of the ride to heart: "ride a pace slow enough for old men... to carry on a conversation."



If you haven't read Chandra's blog, it's worth a perusal. He is a pretty inventive guy which is evident in the helmet mirror he rigged up and several other details on his bike. Because we insisted on following the advertised ride pace, we pretty much rode at a the rear of the pack. Chris always came back to check on us.



Don't worry folks, we're comin'!



Here's Chris talking with Hector and Dave. Unfortunately, shortly after this picture was taken, Dave's hat fell into his wheel and broke a couple spokes and trashed his derailleur. (I heard later the bike was repaired without too much fuss.) But his day was done, and Hector, being a good friend, went back with Dave. (Thanks to Chris's wife for picking them up en route.)



At times it looked like the road went on forever.





Chandra and I, near a creek that cut through the road.



Just before Rosston, there was a series of fairly steep hills; Chandra and I made full use of our low gears.



We finally arrived at Rosston. Ironically, the two tortoises (Chandra and I) were among the first into town (because the main group missed a turn and rode extra miles). Rosston has a genuine old-time general store



The cashier proclaimed that she was the oldest lady in town.



This is a Lone Star Beer ad. The picture for the ad was taken in front of the store.



Finally the rest of the group showed up.



The Quitters: Pat and Bryan had to leave early because Pat had another commitment and the ride was taking longer than he thought it would. So they sagged back from the halfway point at the store. But it didn't stop Bryan from reveling in the glory of it all.



The group hung together a little better on the homeward leg of the ride. Steve A in particular didn't seem to mind hanging out with the Slow Old Guys.







Toward the end of the ride it was easy to push the pace a bit. The shadows were getting long and we didn't want to be on the road after dark.



All in all, a great ride. Special thanks to our host, Chris, and his wife, who rescued them's that needed rescuin'.

I took a lot more pictures at the Ramble; to see a slideshow of all of them, click here.