"Freak Fifty" declared "freaktastic!" - Part I

[Saturday, September 1, 2012]  "Everything went smoothly."~Penny  Not quite.  If it had, I would have nothing to write about!  LOL!

The day started with Freakboy [Dan] having to act as mediator between his two sisters, Beth and Kassie.  Kassie reported that her family had gotten a late start leaving Columbus.  Dan reminded her that gung-ho Beth would be anxious to get underway.  I could not resist jumping into the fray, texting and fibbing, "Beth is already here and ready to go!"  Not to be outquipped, Kassie texted back, "Then we are turning around and heading back home.  It is not a family bike ride if people are left behind!"  After telling Kassie she was turning into her grandma (no offense, Grandma!) Dan's group [Dan, Maria, Penny and myself] loaded our bikes on, and ourselves into, Dan's vehicle and departed for the trail-head of the Little Miami National Scenic River Trail.

Ironically, after all the drama, Beth's and Kassie's families pulled into the trail-head parking lot simultaneously.  Upon seeing Kassie's vehicle, Dan suddenly realized he had forgotten their t-shirts back at his house.  Mishap #1.  Penny, who was not riding but instead captaining the support squad, immediately stated she would drive back to Dan's house, retrieve the t-shirts and bring them to the first rest stop in Loveland.  Unfortunately, Kassie sealed her family's own doom by talking her mother into driving her van.  When Penny arrived back at Dan's house, she reached up to press the button to open the garage door as Dan had instructed her to do to enter the locked house.  At this moment, she realized, oops, she was not driving Dan's vehicle!  Mishap #2.

The eleven starting riders enjoyed a nice 9-mile ride between Milford and Loveland.  It was humid but the temperature was nowhere near last year's 100 degrees.  Coincidentally, there were also eleven riders last year but not the same eleven as this year.  It was Kassie's, Maria's and Rosie's first year behind the handlebars.  They replaced Elise and Gavin, who had to work, and Ally, who wimped out at Loveland last year and decided not to ride at all this year.  Superwimps Jill and Penny have never ridden but somebody's gotta be on the support squad.  I biked alongside Kassie and chatted with her about the new school year at Ashland University, where she is an adjunct professor.  I also biked with Beth and we compared notes about the plethora of satellite radio channels available to us in our respective new vehicles.

I am going to break this up into two or more parts.  I want to give my ardent followers something to read right away while not losing the attention of my not-so-ardent followers.  I also want to turn control of my laptop over to CyberDefender so they may speed it up before I smash it!

To be continued...

"Freak Fifty" Foto Gallery

The entire ensemble of "Freak Fifty" Fools.  Standing (from left to right):  Dan (the Freak himself), Jim-Bob, Seth, Rosie, Caleb, Elise, Carrie, Ally and Phil.  Seated (from left to right):  Beth, Maria, Kassie, Jill and Larry.  Ally, Jill and Penny (the photographer) served on the support squad.  This picture was taken outside Miranda's Ice Cream Parlor in Morrow, Ohio, the halfway point and lunch break.

The "Freak Fifty" Final Four:  Jim-Bob, Larry, Kassie and Dan (the Freak).  These were the only four to undertake the return trip from Morrow to Milford and finish the full "Freak Fifty."

Larry arrives in Loveland, Ohio.  This was the last rest stop before the final leg of the "Freak Fifty."

Jim-Bob and Dan (the Freak) arrive at the finish line at the trail-head in Milford, Ohio.

Kassie and Larry arrive at the finish line, concluding the second annual "Freak Fifty."  Final total per Larry's bike computer:  46.85 miles.