Remember Arthur Treacher's?

   This fast(sea)food franchise used to be fairly common in our area, but now is down to about a dozen total restaurants throughout the mid-Atlantic states. When I see road signs announcing the application of “Oil and Chips”, the ONLY thing that makes me smile is the thought of the restaurant sign with the obscure actor in the jaunty riding cap. Since the road sign doesn’t signal the coming of anything edible, I’m just left with the frustration that another one of my favorite cycling roads is getting messed up by that half-assed road resurfacing technique.

   Besides saving the Department of Transporation money, I always think it is really a subtle speed limit enforcing method. When driving on those treated roads, who can ignore all those ticks and clinks of gravel you hear and the thoughts of what they must be doing to your car’s paintjob?

   I get the same feeling when riding my bike over these roads, except the dust is also accumulating all over my rims and frame, not to mention fouling up the nice, clean lube job on my chain. When the sporadic piles of loose gravel clear off the road surface in a few months, I’m then left with a slow, bumpy ride, instead of the fast sheet of worn asphalt that used to be there!

   Sue and I found out Saturday that a large section of the Shore Fire Century route that we enjoyed so much last year was ruined by chips and oil as well. It didn’t seem to bother us as much as the constant wind that came out of the northeast. The 100 mile course through the flat farmlands of central Delaware had very little shade, and the sun was beating on us throughout the ride, so I admit that the breeze kept the temperature very comfortable, but the pedaling effort in those conditions left us pretty wasted, beyond what we had experienced in previous rides at a similar distance.

   After the 45 mile mark, the riding was almost exclusively to the north or east, so the wind was either right in our faces or just off a shoulder. With our regular “teammates” unable to join us on this year’s ride, we missed taking turns pulling on the front and then getting a bit of rest in the paceline. I took it upon myself to lead out most of the way, but Sue was struggling to even hold my wheel, and expended too much energy yo-yoing back and forth.

   The ride otherwise was very enjoyable, with an excellent choice of lightly travelled roads that weaved from Middletown down to Smyrna, west just across the Maryland border, then back east through Dover, skirting the wetlands of Delaware Bay and looping back. Although I don’t expect gluten-free miracles, and I supply myself accordingly, there were otherwise well-stocked food/rest spots about every twenty miles, with very friendly folks to encourage you along the way.

   At one particular stop I returned to my bike to find a married couple checking it out. They were admiring the Saeco/Cannondale paint job and reminiscing about the great sprinter Mario Cipollini. All right, real cycling fans! We talked about our respective collections of machines, which were surprisingly similar in number and manufacture. Sue was getting that glazed-over look from listening to our talk for too long, so I took the hint, wished them a good ride, and we were off again.

   Sue admitted later that she hadn’t eaten enough and probably drank too much water, which really threw her system off. Much like the latter part of the MS ride last autumn, I was just tired of being in the saddle and really wanted to pick up the tempo to be done with it! With about ten miles left, we were among a handful of riders with whom Sue could pace, so she told me “I’m done – you go ahead.” I asked if she wanted me to return with the car, but she said, “Oh no, I’m finishing - just at my own speed.”

   Truth be told, after fighting the headwind all day, I didn’t have a whole lot left in my legs, and there were some minor hills approaching the end of the course that discouraged me from going very hard at all. It wasn’t too long of a wait until Sue came along, and we enjoyed some ice cream at the finish area, then headed for the nearby Wawa for a large Coke!