Back to OOF

It's been almost a month since I have ridden to OOF (Ovens of France) and Friday morning, the Lunartics were headed out at 6 AM to ride the Trampy's route, which is over Purchase Brook.  It's not a bad climb but one member in the group is not a fan.  It was cold, though! Everyone was wearing at least arm warmers. I decided to test out my new United States Military Endurance Sports kit (USMES). 

If you ride Zwift you might have seen their group rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Over the winter, I rode them religiously and even led a few rides myself. Which prompted me to join the organization since I am a veteran.  I wore my long sleeved jersey this morning because I am still waiting for my short sleeved one, it was back ordered.  The jersey was perfect for this ride, as was the rest of the kit.  It was 46 degrees at the start of the ride and the descent down to the river is always a cold one.

On the ride up Purchase Brook my rear wheel was making a noise. I had just gotten it back from the Bicycle Center where it was trued and had a new tire put on it. The trueing was a must but I was shocked to learn the Maxxis Re-Fuse tire that I bought at Outdoor Sports Center in Wilton on clearance was damaged. What I was feeling since the start was a bulge in the tire that I took for a flat spot in the rim.  Having another Sefas SECA tire, though, will last me quite awhile, though.

Catching the sunrise at the top of Spurce Brook was glorious! The fog in the valleys belied the fact thats where the cold air lies.  

Seeing the cows at the top of the climb, in addition to the sunrise, is also part of the fun, although they were just waking up and one in the fore ground was pissing.

Then we bombed down Spruce Brook, which is a really steep descent and you can pick up a lot of speed. However, it was recently chip sealed with the new top coating and the gritty surface adds a lot more resistance and thus keeps the speeds down. It was foggy riding up Route 172 and finally lifted by the time we hit Route 6 in Woodbury.

It was glorious to sit outside and enjoy our pastries and coffee

As we were leaving the parking lot Gavin noticed his tire was flat so we watched him change it. Steven broke out a CO2 because Gavin didn't. Good thing because we would have been there for another 30 minutes waiting for Gavin to pump up his tire.

Heading back, it got foggy again after Route 172 as you got closer to the Housatonic River. Scott and Steve pealed off before the highway to take the bike path over the river and head to there homes over behind Fairfield Hills. Paul split off at Walnut Tree to do the same and Gavin and I climbed up Glenn Road back to Cover 2, where we parked our cars.