Reunion of sorts

The last couple of days that I've been out I have regretted not packing the camera. A couple of days ago I ran into a heavily loaded cyclist standing at the side of the road at a Y type intersection. Turns out he was in the last few hours of a bike tour that started in Charlotte, SC and was confused by his maps and GPS as to where to turn next. Turns out he was from San Francisco, happily retired (at what I would guess was about age 50), and did two or three tours like this every year - this was his first in the east. So I gave him some directions - he had maybe 30 miles to his final destination - and was on my way. I was trying to do a bit of training and so headed out to an area where I knew I could a couple of big circles of five or so miles and lo and behold, I came up on my friend at another Y intersection and, again, totally lost. (And I should say, in his defense, that the roads in this area have a way of changing names every time they cross a township or county line so maps sometimes lie.) In any case, this time I offered to lead him to a spot where I could send him off and mistakes were impossible. So off we rode through the next town, past a high school with kids just getting out, and back into the country - maybe ten miles in all. I wished him well and watched him heading up the road with his panniers loaded with tent, cooking gear, sleeping bag, etc, etc and was so glad I had Tracy and her wonderful assistants to find our hotels, send us to restaurants and carry our bags - we just rode the bikes and ate. And today, about halfway through my ride I pulled up to a country store/deli and there was Tom Ryan coming from the other direction. Tom's mustache seems a bit bushier and he is still shaving his head but otherwise is the same crank I've know for years. So we had some chocolate chip cookies and something to drink and decided to continue on together. He always knows some little road, frequently with a climb, that I have either never seen or don't remember and we found one today...Pretty road with a long climb - all country with woods or farms on either side. All in all we did about half of a 55 mile ride together and it was a good day. I do so many of my rides on kind of the spur of the moment, i.e., I've finished my coffee and NY Times in the morning and therefore it must be time for a ride. I forget how much I enjoy riding with a friend and we resolved to do this a little more often....