Sunday April 2, 2006 was a bike ride day.  Tom was planning to join us and both Pete and Steve were going to ride as well.  Pete has been trying to get Barry out to ride with us so he can buy the lunch that he owes Barry.  We figure after tax season is over we will be seeing Barry.    

Pete took his bike into the Rochester Bike Shop (RBS) for a tune up so he was riding Elaine’s bike this day.  Luckily Elaine’s bike is a good quality bike and it has withstood a Pete ride in the past so it will probably survive this ride. 

We didn’t have any plans on where to ride so we just headed toward our favorite lunch spot, Hamlin Pub.  It was a little early so we rode past the pub a ways and circled back to arrive right at opening time.  No one was drinking beer this week so there was a good chance we would be riding our bikes home after lunch, unlike the last time Tom and Pete hooked up on a bike ride. 

It was a bit chilly this day, but not too bad.  Pete claimed he was cold and for that reason he set a quicker than normal pace.  We have been riding more lately and it felt good to get out and ride at decent pace.  The ride to the pub was very enjoyable, we always have fun when Tom and Steve show up for the rides, they are both a couple characters.  Pete was teasing Tom about how he was wearing his helmet.  Pete claimed Tom looked funny with his helmet perched high atop his head.  I took a picture of Tom wearing his helmet, see below.  

Tom recently helped Steve get his new Chrysler Minivan built and we have been using this subject to joke around a lot lately.  Tom got the van built and delivered so quickly the dealer that Steve bought it from couldn’t believe it.  They said they have never had a vehicle delivered so quickly after just being ordered.  Steve had ordered a couple dealer add on items that took longer to show up than the vehicle.  Even though the van was delivered Steve had to wait a couple days before he could pick it up due to the dealer add ons.   

While we were sitting at the table drinking our diet cokes waiting for our meals the manager stopped by to say hello.  He sat down next to Pete and asked him if he had ordered his big screen TV yet.  Pete dropped his head and replied, not yet.  The manager was funny, he told Pete not to worry at this rate when he does finally get around to ordering it there should be a whole lot more new technology invented. 

At lunch Pete and Steve told us about a Red Wings old timer hockey game they recently attended at the Detroit Skate Club.  Pete made up some phony press passes for Steve and Steve actually wore the press passes and dressed like a photographer for the game.  Steve got in the game for free and actually went around posing as a photographer from the Detroit Free Press.  At one point Steve tried to go into the locker room and a guy at the door asked him what he was doing.  Steve said taking pictures and the guy said, “Oh you’re from the press come on in.”  So, Steve took a bunch of pictures while in the locker room and he even got to sit on the bench with the players during the game.  He was even out on the ice during the national anthem.  Apparently at one point while in the locker room taking a picture of everything he could think of some one said to Steve, “Man, you sure take a lot of pictures.”  Steve promptly replied, “I get paid by the picture.”  That is a really funny line, only Steve could come up with, and I can only imagine how he said it.  I guess at one point while in the locker room a couple of the players were making comments about another player and they noticed Steve standing near by and they said to him, “That’s off the record, right?”  To which Steve replied, “They don’t pay me to write, only take pictures.” 

If Steve is gracious enough to share some of his pictures from this old timers game I will create a picture page to share with all the bike club fans. 

In appreciation for Tom getting his van built so quickly, Steve picked up the bill from today’s lunch,  thanks Steve.  After lunch we unlocked our bikes and started the ride home.  We took a fairly regular route home.  The pace going home was a little slower than the pace on the way there.  Following are the statistics from this ride, 17.3 miles total, 26.5 max mph, 1 hour and 36 min time on bikes and 10.6 average mph.
David Lindquist