In one of the wettest starts to the summer schedule in recent memory, Friday’s Slow Roll Clarence Pedal Party at West Shore Brewing Company was notably rain-free.

Riders did have to brave some brisk winds, particularly in the hours leading up to the ride, when gusts topped 30 miles per hour, enough to dissuade the most causal of riders and those planning a to ride from home to the event. By ride time, however, the winds had diminished and the winds continued to fall as the ride progressed.

Once the ride got underway, the group of over 200 riders was treated to a much different route than in years past, immediately more rural in nature with farm operations and vast open spaces that were markedly different from the usual urban landscape familiar to riders accustomed to Monday night Slow Rolls in the City of Buffalo.

Other unusual sights? How about rider Chris Ford, equipped with a replica Boneshaker bike. Ford has been riding them since his teens, when he used to entertain crowds in a “living history” museum whose primary attraction, WWI-era biplanes and triplanes of the style that the Red Baron flew.

This is the third year that Slow Roll has visited Clarence, and its free-and-inclusive group rides drew cyclists of all ages, with a mix of riders from Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs joining hometown Clarence folks for an enjoyable twelve-mike roll through Clarence culminating with a ride down Central Main through the Hollow and back to Host West Shore Brewing Company, which co-sponsored the event.