King's Tour of the Quabbin

June 7, 2003       Rutland, Mass.

The Seven Hills Wheelmen welcomed a record 280 riders
to this century / metric century / double metric century.
Lorraine and Andrea sign in riders.
With rain forecast for later in the day, everyone was taking a chance.
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As coordinator this year, Tom gets to wear the King's crown. Really, he's a prince.
Note the stylish new Seven Hills Wheelmen jersey.
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The rain started about 10 a.m.
Some riders changed course, following the metric route instead of the century.
Some even cut short the metric.
 The riders pictured here got back before the rain got heavy.
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Ginny, Dan, Joyce, Steve B.
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Lisa
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Steve G.
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Fran, the watermelon slicer, and Doug, the route arrower.
Note the stylish old Seven Hills Wheelmen jerseys.
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  With the rain, there were lots of flat tires.
There was one particularly nasty pothole-puddle on Route 122, not too far from the finish, where a number of riders crashed. There were some scrapes and bruises, and at least one bent wheel, and one lost cell phone, but no ambulance calls. A Box of Joe from Dunkin’ Donuts helped take the chill off for some of the shivering arrivals late in the day.
  Special thanks to Ed from the Adirondacks, who gave a ride up the last hill to father-daughter tandem team and multiple flat-tire victims Jerry and Stephanie from New Hampshire, who in turn sagged in several other riders.
Seven Hills Wheelmen volunteers not pictured: Sue and Paul, rest stop hosts; Peter, mechanic; Don L., cleanup crew; and Lynne, publicity person.
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