2010 Mufferaw Joe Lucky 7 Ride Report

Well, the photos are in, so I can commence reporting on the Mufferaw Joe, a relief I'm sure for all those waiting with baited breath. Or some kind of breath anyhow. Tanya is a far more adept blogger, evidenced by her post Sunday night. Check it out here.

The Wheelers' Mufferaw Joe is a pretty low key event that draws a huge gaggle of Wheelers riders, and sizeable groups from Eurosports and, this year, Tall Tree. This was the first time out for us, so we were keen to get a taste of the roads the Wheelers call their own. The ride was to be about 140k, forecast over with possibility of cats and dogs, and good food and beer back at Gavan's Hotel upon our return. Warm weather embrocation applied, obligatory team photo (probably the biggest one to date) taken, and we were rolling. 15 minutes after the slower group that it. We probably should have gone then to ease pressure on those in our group lacking road prowess, but we managed quite well anyway.

Rolling out of Quyon. Or was it Gavan? I was already confused at this early juncture.

Wheelers Chris and Mike (correct?) leading us out of town. Chris's rendition of Mufferaw Joe epitomized the spirit of the Wheeler crew: good times, no pretension. Lovely.

Apres a great rail trail sector, indeed, very Tall Tree, we stopped for a flat repair sustained by Wheeling Larry. I'd attacked a dirt descent, hoping to initiate a green tidal wave, then get lost, but alas, Larry tried to match my effort and punctured. Or he just flatted while 'riding along'. This photo of Jamie is terrific, according to me.

Still waiting for the flat repair, but amused by this hobbling dog who could chase a stick like nobody's business. What does that even mean? I don't know, but he was quick. I think we definitely made his day. Unless he killed a squirrel, that'd probably make him even happier than chasing twigs thrown by skinny dudes in tight clothes.

Our first dep stop. I figured we should get a head start on the others to compensate for our slower riders. Here I discuss the route with Norman (correct?), who is wearing socks that definitely would have looked better with my outfit. I asked him if he wanted to trade, but he declined, as his booties were very tight. As you can infer, I was in charge or navigating for our group. Great idea, I'm infamous as a pathetic navigator. Put me on trails in the area and I'm good. Pretty much anywhere else in the world, I'm crap.

Now we're cookin' with Vaseline! I'm glad Rodd stopped to capture the entrance to the ride's best sector, this old road along a lake. It was nice and loose at one point, featuring a sort steep turning climb. The green team attacked here and sprayed roost like nobody's business. Yeah baby! Fun.

We stopped at a dep somewhere on the back half of the ride. Rodd and Pascal scored p'tit Cokes, crowd pleasers. Rob acquired a bag of candies sporting 400 calories. Wow, 400! That's like way more than 300! Too bad they were hard, and therefore unpalatable. Rob tried to pawn them off on David and me later on; no chance sucker, you're carrying those all the way!

I agree, Jamie should consider taking up modeling. This whistful look is his signature. What should we call it?

This is what teamwork looks like. The back of our group got broken off the peloton late in the ride, so we regrouped and kept it tight. We managed to bridge back, not least because the Wheelers waited up and ensured we made a crucial turn. It wasn't until later that we missed some other turns, added 10k on, including a long gravel section that left Rob, David and me cross eyed from our team time trial. Out of water with only lame hard candy taunting us, we rolled into town to be greeted by the Wheelers and a tonne of chili, Large bread, and beer. A great day in the saddle was capped by a great sit down with fellow riders for food and drinks, prize winning and not-winning, and merry making. Looking forward to the Tour Dupont already.