Good for you, Leah. I have probably ridden more in the last two months than I rode all of last year. I still need to double my riding speed before I think about riding with groups again. Right now it is just LSD - LONG SLOW DISTANCE, for me.
Laing Delray beach FL On Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 10:10:18 AM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > [image: 6982042D-DB05-4044-8AC4-9076A708539B.jpeg][image: > 0221807D-FECC-440C-AE2E-AF03DDB70770.jpeg]We moved to Michigan 4 months > ago. After years of being a Lone Wolf I did the unthinkable and joined the > local bike club. The club was founded by racers 50 (FIFTY!) years ago, but > they seemed welcoming enough. Having never ridden in a group, I lacked > knowledge of my pace and skill, did not knowif I’d enjoy club riding. I’ve > never been a road rider. The West has always offered me bike lanes and bike > paths - riding with cars going 55 mph seemed suicidal. Would it be > stressful? Would I be accepted? Would I be slow? My raspberry Platypus is > my lightest build. I don’t know how much it weighs, but it has a > lightweight Nitto rear rack, a Bag Boy Saddlesack (not pictured), and too > many things on the handlebars. Meet my club ride bike. > > My Racing Platypus. 😂 > > One of the board members took me under her wing. She invited her good > friend and organized a ride for the 3 of us. She taught me club etiquette > on the road. They rode carbon bikes with drop bars, but they did not > question my bike. It went great. Bolstered by that ride, I accepted her > invite to the first club ride of the season, provided we could ride in the > same group. “They’ll never believe it when you show up with that bike, > Leah, but you’re strong and you can definitely do club rides.” I have stars > in my eyes for this woman; she is admirable in every way. If she said I > could do it, I would try. > > I pulled into the park and it was carbon and drop bars as far as the eye > could see. A wave of nausea washed over me as I walked my Platypus to the > group huddle. Billie Bars on full display, Grant Safety triangle clasped > around my waist, looking like a true Lone Wolf, I stood in the circle. The > older members were very welcoming and found nice things to say about the > Racing Platypus. The younger racers…well, they ignored it. I’m just as > guilty; I find them terrifying, so I didn’t say hello, either. > > My mentor put us in the 12-14 mph group. A good place to start. It proved > too easy and I coasted much of that 20 miles. We decided we’d do the 15-16 > mph group next time. That day came and due to bad weather it was a small > turnout. We joined the slow group again because they would have only had 2 > riders otherwise. We chose the route famous for its “rollers” (“What are > rollers?” the Platypus rider asked.) and conquered them in cold weather > with a headwind. The Racing Platypus, baptized on the mountains and hills > of Las Vegas, took no issue with those rollers. > > The next night was the women’s ride - the first of the season. About 10 > women, all experienced riders. Triathletes and marathoners, most. All on > drop bar carbon or aluminum. Wondering if they should create a slow and a > fast group, my mentor interrupted and said we’ll be one 15-16 mph group. > Leah can hang. > > I hadn’t realized *I* was the reason they were considering a slow group, > but there it was. > > That was a challenging ride. Those women were fast. The route was 24 miles > and the wind was strong. I was able to stay in 2nd and 3rd position but I > was working to do it. I loved it; such fun to ride with bike people and to > let them plan the route. We passed by 4 lakes. We saw tons of wildlife. > Cars were nice to us and it felt safe to ride on roads with the group. I > got the “wow, a vintage bike” and “I’d like a cruiser bike, too” comments, > and one comment that assumed I must not be able to afford a carbon bike. > They don’t know how it’s possible not to be clipped in. They marveled at my > kickstand. But, I don’t mind because it’s so much fun to ride with them. > > Observations and Things I’m learning: > 1. Bike diversity is healthy. > It is good for racers to see Rivendells and similar style bikes in their > club rides. It is good for me to appreciate other kinds of bikes and other > riding styles. I can be as guilty as them for thinking my way/bike are best. > > 2. Bringing your practical, Just Ride mentality to a club is good. > It seems racer types don’t know about USING a bike. You cannot have your > carbon frame knocked about in a bike rack, so errands by bike/commuting > isn’t popular. I have been active on the club’s FB discussion page, and > been posting the 30 Days of Biking challenge. I’ve got pics of my huge > grocery hauls on my Shopping Platypus and the like. Surprisingly, they did > not know about this national challenge, and several of them are now joining > me, including my mentor! Riding for pleasure and errands is a foreign > concept to most. They ride to go fast and get miles and be fit. But, they > show genuine interest in riding for practical reasons. > > 3. There are things you can learn from racers. > They are more aware of safety issues than I am. They saved me from a crash > last night by calling out “HOLE!” while my head was turned, enthralled with > the swans on the lake. I saw the hole and swerved just in time. I also ride > too close to the yellow lines in the center of the road for their comfort > and they (rightly) corral me back in. Shifting is going to matter. I rarely > shift, but I noticed that after a stop, I’m slow to get going and standing > on my pedals - because I’m in my hardest gear, duh. I should learn to > anticipate that so I’m in a more favorable gear when we set off from > intersections. There will be more lessons I glean from them, I am sure. > > 4. Club riding will force you to be faster. > Speed hasn’t been a priority for me, but it’s nice to know you *can* be > fast. And if you can be faster, you will likely be fitter. I’m interested > to see how my body responds to these new challenges. > > 5. Club riding will teach you about yourself. > The more I ride, the more I learn. My preferences have evolved over the > years, but I think I know how I like my bikes and my gear. I know the > terrain I prefer. But I was doing all my riding alone. Riding with others > shows you where you fall in context, introduces new experiences, reveals > little things you might not know about yourself - like your biases. Riding > with others can show you who you are - good, bad or ugly. > > Two women in my group are interested in a Platypus of their own. My mentor > is saving her pennies for one, and another woman told me last night she is > very interested. Mine will probably be the only Racing Platypus. But it > would be a thrill to see more of these bikes here in town. > > Don’t count yourself out just because you ride a bike that is markedly > different from the norm. Attached are photos from my last 2 club rides. > Leah > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/41d8ba98-d472-43d2-a4df-ac312472452cn%40googlegroups.com.
