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Seagull - 2010 Blog – From the Doctor: Thursday: We all were looking forward to the annual Seagull Century in Salisbury, MD. Everything started out fine, we left on time the Prez was riding with John T so he was off and running. No delays.. ? I was rolling with Joe and Stan Straughter. I knew we would do fine since these brothers had been on this ride nearly ten years. We got to MD in good shape BUT after crossing over the Bay Bridge a comedy of errors began, we missed a turn. This resulted in an additional 2 hrs. ride time. The killer was these boys tried to put the mistake at my feet, because I was sitting in the co-pilot seat. Now remember Joe & Stan had made this trip several years. Friday: We got up early, drove over to Ocean City for the annual 30 - 60 mile ride along the ocean front. Met up with crews from NY, MD, and D.C. Some folks wanted to ride to the pier and meet the New Jersey Majors that was riding from Newark on Thursday. They were supposed to ride 130 miles on Thursday, however they were forced to make a 45 mile detour, which resulted in their riding 175 miles on Thursday, 70 miles on Friday and then the century on Saturday. The Prez and Stan had left our group early (the old sneak out early move) and were down the road. The rest of the folks (say 50 or so) rolled out, and after 3 miles the tempo exploded as the young guns from D.C., NY and Maryland wanted to make a point. The Dr., Joe, John T just chilled and did 30 or so miles just to loosen up for tomorrow’s century. The Prez did the 60 mile option wanting to meet up with the Jersey crew and ride back with them. Needless to say this turned out not to be a good idea, as he had 2 flat tires and was delirious by the time we picked him up. He was not able to differentiate between Rt. 90 and 90th Street. We went to the university to pick-up our respective registration packets and get some deals from the swap meet. Saw a lot of familiar faces from the ride that morning. James met us there as he’d just arrived from Columbus. Friday night was REAL COOL…. John T and Joe Straughter (Chief Tel) prepared our dinner and it was OFF THE HOOK….. Superb~!!! Later that evening Stu and Reggie rode in from Philly. Saturday: Everything went like clockwork. We arrived at Salisbury University at the appointed hour. Hooked up with Ivan, Bud and Ken from D.C. and Cooley from Columbus. Mingled with the crews from Jersey, Brooklyn, NY, D.C., Maryland, and Pittsburg. We all planned on doing the century but John T, he was doing the metric century. Or so he thought. As usual the roll started nice enough but after a short time the tempo picked up and the roll was on. AND it was intense. I got separated from the front group after a serious left turn. Those that were kicked out the back formed the B group and rode on to up with everyone at the 42 mile break. Then the Prez and I rolled out. We caught up with Stan. Here is where it gets sketchy, the Prez claims I rode off from him and Stan. My position is, I was maintaining tempo. At any rate, made it to lunch at the beach. Rode out with Ken, Ivan, Bud, Stu and a few more. Excellent pace and roll until, 7 miles from the ice-cream & pie, the dreaded CRAMPS set in on both legs. I struggled to keep tempo. Forced to go to my biggest gear to keep the cramps at bay. The last 18 miles was all good. I was rollin with Stu, Ken, Ivan, Bud, Cooly and the Atlanta crew. I sucked wheel all the way in~! Other perspectives: John T was to do 62 miles. The Brother ended up with in excess of 115 miles. How did this happen? Another comedy of errors… He followed the wrong arrows after the 1st rest stop, after having received erroneous information regarding which color to follow. T was restricted from turning around by local police after he discovered his mistake. He damaged his derailleur at the rest stop and had to ride 20 miles with only the use of 2 gears. After waiting in line for nearly an hour for the repair, the repairman advised John that it could break at anytime, so he should take it very easy. He had 20 more miles to go. T nursed his way the finale 20 or so miles and ran into Cooley, (in his car) asking if he wanted a ride. Being a true Major Taylor, T declined the offer and rode to the finish. Long day for T. It was getting late. WHERE WAS JAMES~? James had an extended ride. I believe the brother got in at 7 p.m. When asked what was the delay, he replied. Well, I took a break at each rest stop AND took a nap~! When I got to the beach, I went in the ocean and waded around, since I had never seen it before. Afterwards I took a nap. I really enjoyed the ride. Oh well~! That evening John & Joe again prepared a grand meal, this time with crabs, steak & fish.. Very tasty~! We finished the evening telling “tails from the road “.