"December Reservations" Revisited
by Diane Goodwin

First, thanks to Robert Singer for putting together a great ride, holding the pace down and not dropping me. Group riding is difficult to lead  because of different levels. I was the only woman and the “weakest link.” No one seemed to complain though.

Thanks to Judson Hand and Nate Morgenstern for hanging back. We know one of these guys wants to be in the front at all times! Judson, a strong rider who finished the brevet series, had recently recovered from pneumonia. Judson leads rides for Central Jersey Bike Club as well – look for training rides advertsed on this site.

Special thanks to everyone – especially those who wanted to ride faster.

With around 2000 miles in my legs, I managed to complete the ride and feel good enough to ride on Sunday (my neighborhood and my pace!). The day was overcaste, sun tried to come out, and there was a bit of rain.

Eleven riders started in Brookdale Park which is in Monclair, NJ. The start was easy to find – just off the Garden State Parkway. I drove from Englewood, NJ with Richie “Ski” Kondzelaski. I asked him to the ride for several reasons. One, I knew he’d be up for a moderate paced ride with different cyclists, I needed someone to make sure I went to the ride and he’d stay with me if the pace was too great. Richie has a great personality – nothing bothers him and he doesn’t complain. He’s ridden RAAM and crewed for others. Recently he finished BMB. He lives in Yonkers, NY. Since he hadn’t ridden in 2 months, this was a good way to stetch his legs.

Robert started the ride around 9:45 a.m. taking us through some pretty, quiet residential neighborhoods. There was a steep climb which I was last, of course, but Judson was cool and stayed back. Soon Robert descended to see how I was. I made it … no walking. The ride was mostly flat, some rollers and a few climbs. Climbing came in the beginning and end. It was an easier B*.

Eagle Rock Reservation is what we climbed through. At the top, there was an overlook (NJ and Manhattan), plus a restaurant. What I was most impressed with was the World Trade Center memorial. Names of victims were listed in alphabetical order engraved in marble or granite. I quickly found the “M”s … wondering if I’d see Nancy Morgenstern. She was there but I don’t know why her city isn’t listed and her last name was spelled incorrectly.

Nancy Morgenstern (related to Nate?) worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and was 32 years old. She was vivacious and always smiling bringing happiness to riding and racing. Everyone remembers Nancy. Her family is from Boro Park, NY and suffered a great loss. We all did. Unfortunately, she was in one of the towers during the 911 attacks.

Back to the ride ..... At mile 20 we stopped for a break. This was good because there were only porta-potties at the 27 mile deli stop. I don’t know the name of this deli but the food (salami sandwhich) was good and the service was excellent. There wasn’t a lot of customer traffic (like in NYC). In fact, there was hardly any traffic on the roads all day, by my standards. Remember, I bike commute into Manhattan.

I was surprised how little we talked to each other though. On this ride, I didn’t really meet anyone new … just rode next to them. Maybe I was just worried about survival.

The pace picked up on the flats (20+). The rollers were fine; we stayed together. It was good to get out and ride with a group ... I forgot what it feels like. We finished with 57 miles.