so, with no further adieu... HOLIDAY SNAPS!!!
the engine behind all of our involvement, Jeff V. thanks Jeff for caddying my goodie bag in your car!
Jeff VerVoort, Peter Kleppin, Dan Zweig & Steve Donovan at the start. i don't have a good shot of it, but Donovan's got a sweet Motobecane made back in the day. Fully lugged, vitus tubing, downtube shifters. nice to see the classic still on the road.
some cool scenery between verona and paoli, ya der hey.
three time pro-bowl wide out Al Toon in attendance. much respect to the former new york jet.
just leaving oregon, this groupetto caught me. i begged to get in their pace line and they kindly obliged.
i lasted with them to about the corner of byrne rd & fish hatchery... then i was off the back quicker than you could sing "...turn out the lights, the party's over..." (that's them, the little black dots on up the road a piece... ok, way up the road).
suffering in the saddle in fitchburg. yes, that's chocolate on my chin from a power bar i took two friggin' bites of approaching oregon. of course, i didn't know that i had chocolate on my chin until i had *finished* and was sitting at the beer tent and looking at the pictures on my camera. so, i rubbed my face on my shirt sleeve and sure enough... a chocolate stain. if you know of a bigger DORK than me, i'd like to meet him and compare notes.
this composite is of a group of folks that caught me just outside of madison and i subsequently wheel sucked all the way back home. a big thank-you to them for the escort.
so, after a free beer & a wipe of the chin, it was time to hop back on the bike and head home. the 50 mile ride average was around 18mph non-stop. (in the picture, the smaller-sized number is the avg, reading 30.1kph. yes, my 'puter is actually set up for kilometers, just another indication of the breadth of my dorkdom). 
the organizers put on a great, trouble-free event. thanks & i love you to Margo for putting up with me calling her every few minutes going "what's going on with the tour? who's ahead?" thanks for your support of the boys and girls club and/or thanks for just tuning in. until next time... rider 717 is off the back.
