Natalie Mathews dreamed the idea of a women’s ride 2 years ago.  The plan was a 40 mile ride with brunch at La Madeleine in McKinney for the rest stop.  The 2008 version was rained out by a very blustery day.  In 2010, she recruited me, the less directionally challenged rider, to help her try it again, hoping that May might give them a better chance at clear skies. The 2010 version looked like it might be rained out as well, with darkish skies in the morning.

We had about 23 riders show up, mostly in shades of pink.  As usual, Natalie knew many of the folks who showed up and it seemed to me that there were a fair number of ladies who weren’t “regulars”, so we had a great mix of people.  With the promise of a conversational pace of about 15 mph average, we set off for our first rest stop.  We got sprinkled on a bit, but just enough to provide some natural cooling for a warm day.  We stopped at Lucas Foods, the Feed Store/Bait Store/Convenience Store where Lucas Road makes the left turn to go over the lake.  The owner was a little concerned when we took over both rest rooms, but seemed to get it when he saw just how many ladies there were!

The next leg took us up Winningkoff Road.  I had never been up that road from Lucas Rd, so Susie Mumby took the lead to insure we didn’t miss the turn.  While on Winningkoff & Orr Roads, we saw more dogs than I’ve ever seen on that road.  Our other “excitement” was when somebody called a mechanical for the domestic dispute on the side of the road just south of the McKinney Airport.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for the couple), they drove off before we could stop our group.

Our personal Bike Butler, Photographer & SAG Wagon Driver, Chris Mathews, was waiting for us at La Madeleine in McKinney.  He watched our bikes while we enjoyed brunch.  Somebody ought to buy that man a cup of coffee!  The remainder of the ride turned out sunny & quite warm as we cruised back to Indy & Legacy.

I hope everyone had as much fun as Nat & I did!