Cruising along nice and easy on quiet roads I did a check behind me for oncoming traffic before making a left turn. That’s when I spotted the roadie merging onto the same road I’m leaving. After crossing over, I notice he was taking the same route and was now standing and pushing hard. A chaser? Or maybe just riding hard.

I was once one of those who couldn’t stand being in second place until I realized how childish it is to do that. I got to the point that when caught myself starting to chase, I would pull over and let the other biker ride out of reach. I have been chased down many times and in most circumstances, the chaser used everything he had to overtake me and once in front would coast a bit. That was my cue to catch up and ride a few feet behind matching the speed of the now spent rider. Watching their reaction to not being able to put space between us was fun.

Today’s chase was different. I was on my “Giant Ease E” electric assist bike. The side road had a moderate incline, with a decent downhill that I used to my advantage. My bike has three levels of assist. Easy, Normal and Hyper-speed (as I call it).

I crested the hill with a decent lead at the beginning of this challenge, and immediately went to hyper-speed to put a lot of distance by the time he got to the apex. The next right was onto the Phoenix Bike Trail in Mattapoisett, MA. This was two miles from my exit to home. Leaving the setting on hyper-speed, I pushed to get a wider gap. A quick glance had me thinking that he was after me. Head down, standing on the pedals and pushing for victory, the hammerhead in his superhero costume, (matching kit, helmet, shoes and bike), was losing ground. That was my cue to ease up. . He was pushing hard and was less than a hundred yards behind and closing fast when I left the path for the short ride to my house.

I stopped after I took the turn off and looked down the path. The guy stopped pedaling and was bent over is handlebar breathing heavy. The confirmation was that he was indeed a chaser and he almost caught me. Almost.

The last stop on our European tour.

Paramount productions has been filming the movie “Findestkind“, in my hometown of Fairhaven, MA for about a month. I did manage to get some video on the first day of shooting before I left for my Europe holiday.

Yesterday, on my bike ride around town, I came across the activity beginning. The film crew and all that go along with making a blockbuster movie began showing up in big numbers. Soon truck after truck of equipment arrived. All of this activity was directed by the Teamsters local 25 out of Boston. They moved everything into place seamlessly. These guys were competent, professional and also very friendly to the locals watching the goings on. Unions always make things better for everyone involved and Local 25 represented unions magnificently. Kudos to them.

SouthCoast Bikeway and Buzzards Bay Coalition teamed up for this annual ride. Starting at Ft. Phoenix in Fairhaven, this was an out and back to Ft Rodman/Ft Taber located on the southern tip of the New Bedford, Ma peninsula.

After a two day stay in Amsterdam, Sue and I traveled to Belgium. We spent a few hours in Brussels before moving on to Bruges. Bruges has two bests for me. It’s the most interesting place we visited and the movie “In Bruges” is at the top of my most enjoyed cinemas.

Today, Friday, will most likely be my last day biking for a couple of weeks. Saturday could be hectic preparing for international travel. We always go to dinner the evening before one or both of us travel. This time it will be with friends. I am a season ticket member for the New England Revolution and will be watching this home match from my living room. Not as good as my row two seats, but it will do.

Sue and I board Air Canada on Sunday afternoon for a flight to Amsterdam where I may ride on a tour of the city. We will also visit Brussels and Bruges before moving on to Paris and London. I have wanted to visit Paris with Sue for over thirty years. Also, Bruges is a favorite of friend who have traveled to Europe and we are looking forward to spending time in that city.

Depending on the availability of tickets and time, I’m going to try my best to attend at least one football match. London is my best bet because it will be on the weekend.

Part of our group started in Dartmouth, MA, another group in Fairhaven, Ma. Our team of 14 bike met at the YMCA in New Bedford and continued together to the event start along Buzzard’s Bay. My unofficial count was 85 rider.