Beach Ride!

Hello Everyone,

Finally got around to writing up my group ride to the beach from August! Whoa, I am a bum!  I think in this post I would like to first cover what I learned and experienced, and then after, we can jump into the actual ride and memories!

I'd like to say that this is my first official group ride.  We had a total of seven guys riding down to Ocean City, MD.  This was very exciting, but challenging at times, as many of us never rode in a group before. The tough part was keeping the group together, especially at times when traffic picked up.  Fortunately, we had a good leader and a great sweeper, the latter who really kept us together, and would occasionally ride up along side people and indicate that our spacing was too large (don't want a car merging in between the group).  He also made sure to block traffic when we merged as to let the rest of the group in safely.

The Seven Ninjetters!

Compared to solo riding, you really have to pay attention to lane positioning, spacing, speed, and being very predictable all around.  At times I worried about being a complete noob, such as parking properly, making slow turns, and one time trying to shift into first with my kickstand down (turns the bike off!).  Once we got going, this wasn't too much of an issue. Fortuntely, no problems on the way there, though close to our destination it started to rain, and continued to pour well into the night.  On the way back we got soaked, and flying down the highway while cold and wet was the most miserable experience ever.  I thought I was getting hypothermia as it was hard to focus and I nearly felt like letting go completely and laying down (falling and getting massacred).  We hit warmer air just in time, an invisible wall which was at least 10 degrees warmer.  Do yourself a favor and get proper rain gear, or just stay out of the rain.  It can be very dangerous!

High Idling?  Oh well!

Now to the actual ride!  Myself and two others initially met up at my house.  Stopped at Panera for some delicious bagels first, then returned, got packed and suited up, and got on our bikes.  We fueled up real quick, and off we went to meet a few others in Newark.  Got on the highway, zipped through some traffic (my friend is from NYC, he is a great rider, but his style compared to mine is like a crazyman! must be an NYC thing) and reached the other guys.  From there we met up with the final group of guys, rested up a little bit, and took some photos. Then we were off!

How We Arrived at the Beach.  Charming.

Can't say it was a very eventful ride as it was down the highway and through some very slow beach traffic, but it was still enjoyable hearing all the bikes humming down the road.  Occasionally we pulled over to keep in contact with some others we were to meet up with.  At one point when we pulled over, a friend noticed my idle speed was really high, but we could not adjust it (after returning I futzed with it, and got it back to normal).  Oh well!  Fast forward a few hours and we reached the beach.  One member was kind enough to let us use his beach condo as a home base.  There, the  initial three of us (let's call us the Panera crew) took some time to walk down the beach and enjoy the sand and surf.  It was a bit cool and stormy, so we didn't get to go swimming.  I watched the sea gulls float through the air, and admired the way the water rushed over the sand and back to the ocean.  It is fascinating to see how water cuts and erodes everything.  From there, we headed back and went to eat some dinner at a typical beach type restaurant.  The food was good, and we were warm, dry, and merry.

A Stream in the Middle of the Beach

Upon leaving, we noticed a big dark cloud, a very ominous sign of the impending miserable return journey.
We decided to ride through it anyway, and went to stop for gas.  After having some technical difficulties at the pumps, we pulled out into the onslaught of precipitation.  My suit battled for a measly ten minutes before soaking through, and I felt the water filling in my boots and running down my chest and back.  It was cold, very very cold.  I led the crew down some unfamiliar, dark, wet back roads.  There was little visibility and I just hoped we were headed in the right direction.  After what felt like too long, we found the highway.  Jumped on it and were off at a much faster pace.  Bear in mind, at highway speeds, the windchill has a profound effect, and add in being wet, and you can get hypothermia really quickly.  After fortunately making it through back to my hometown area, just prior to getting home we got lost.  We went in every direction except the right one.  Fortunately by then it was warm, so we weren't in danger.

Three some hours later from Ocean City, we got inside, changed, and were relieved to be back.  After all that, we decided it was a good idea to take a car, and get some drinks at the local pub.  It was an exciting, miserable, adventurous, silly, insightful trip, but I am glad I did it anyways.  We had a lot of laughs after.  What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right?

Park Bike, Take Car, and Get Beer! DO NOT DRINK AND RIDE!!!

Big tip..get some type of rain gear!!  You never know when you may be caught in a random downpour.  It is definitely not fun or safe to ride wet and cold.  Take it seriously if you plan to ride in less than ideal conditions.

Stay safe friends, especially if Hurricane Sandy is coming for you, like it is for me!!

- Pandabear

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