Bonnie and Lola break new ground.

"Ello ellay Lola!" Isn't that how the song by the Kinks goes? Then there's the classic from Damn Yankees, "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets" too. Lola wanted a flat ride for her 1st club outing and she got it. Today was Lola's debut, with rider Sharon on board. Lola is a crank forward design TREK Pure. It was also the first club ride for Joanna's new bike, a TREK 1.2 that she has named Bonnie for her good looks. We had 10 riders all told for the usual Sunday afternoon relaxer/beginner ride. Michelle and her son Phillip joined us, as did John and Frank, both of whom pedaled to the park meeting place from their respective homes. New rider to the group Jamie also came down to join us from his nearby home, but from the look of him he is far from new to riding. Hope to catch some hills with him soon. Clarence made a for a 3rd newish rider on a new to him bike. He started with a comfort bike recently but has now upgraded to a TREK 5200. John helped him with a seat height adjustment in the parking lot, using the old PBH x 0.883 formula. That is what I use too. Clarence and Jo are both still practicing that clip out thing. Jo's spilled a few times this week, and so has Clarence. To show us how he does it, Clarence fell over after clipping out on the wrong side at the END of the ride today. He landed in pine straw, and seemed none the worse for wear. To be honest, I don't miss cleats one bit. I took them off a year or so ago and seem to ride just the same.

Here's the happy troupe with nattily knickered Frank the Crank on "Col. Mustard" (a custom, S&S Coupled, Bilenky) leading the way:



The new bikes (Bonnie & Lola) are on the right of the picture below




I rode Mark, my Nashbar steel frame from the 80s, and I have to say, it's not as pretty with its current set up as it used to be, but it rides GREAT. Those "awful" 700D wheels I got from Jeff have finally found a home. The Conti Touring tires on them are really really nice and the wheels roll smoothly. After our 10 miles of 10 - 12 mph, several folks took a brisker turn up the Cobbs Ford Rd hill to add some more saddle time. The beginners all made it, no sweat, and I'm sure will see Bonnie and Lola again soon. I'm loving this weather too. 80s is so much better as a temperature range than 90s. :)