I started riding in groups about 50 years ago. They were all pretty much race oriented. Haven't ridden much with groups for the last 5 years or so as I have gotten older, fatter, and slower. The group that I used to ride with when I lived in Cocoa, FL did have a couple of "no-drop" rides at one time, bit the as time went on, the newer people weren't interested and the older people stopped riding or moved away. I still occasionally showed up and rode with them till I got dropped after a few miles. I also got tired of people half the age of some of my bicycles giving me cycling advice. I haven't even tried since I moved to South Florida because A) COVID, B) all the cycling groups that I see are kitted out, C) the people in the bicycle shops are aghast that I am actually buying tubes in this day and age, and D) I have been really busy with work. I think there must be other slow old cyclists in South Florida, so I will try once South Florida ceases to be the COVID hotspot that it our Governor DeathSantis seems to prefer. Leah, you may have to start your own group, a task that you are likely better equipped for than this old curmudgeon.
Laing Delray Beach FL On Monday, January 17, 2022 at 10:16:07 AM UTC-5 rmro...@gmail.com wrote: > Wow, a lot to unpack here. I am kind of on the other end of this. Having > been a cyclist for 4 decades+. I discovered the joy of riding while working > as a student designer @ Huffy Bikes around 1976. There was an old 10 speed > in the barn of the boarding house I was staying. I just starting riding > country roads & pretty soon I was struggling to get back before dark. Then > I started doing casual rides with friends. But then I discovered “fine” > bicycles - and they were all racing bikes. Ah, the romance of it all! So, I > got a PX10 & joined the local racing club. I got dropped more often than > not but I got better. Even (especially?) the training rides were > competitive. > Then I discovered triathlon - so that was a “thing” for about 10 years. > Then - children! Basically a 10 or so year long gap in my cycling life. > Tried golf for a while. Sold the clubs & bought a bike! Found another, > slightly more chill group. But still pretty darn competitive. Did that for > 10-15 years. But during this time I discovered MTB. Game changer! > Eventually sold road bikes to fund MTB. A LOT of solo or just a few friends > in the woods riding. Not competitive. Life changing stuff - really! But, > MTB requires driving to the trail. There isn’t always time for that. Enter > a different kind of “road” riding, including gravel. This is where the Clem > comes in. MTB got me away from the “group” ride mentality. Clem is > reinforcing the solo riding joy of country roads. Hard efforts still, if I > am feeling up to it. But no one to try to keep up with. No pace to keep. > Just me & my bike enjoying being alive. > Not an answer to your question really. Where do we fit in? Perhaps we > don’t? And that might be the point. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 17, 2022, at 9:31 AM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > [image: 0168267B-AB4E-4252-B2D2-09FC827BCB73.jpeg]We recently moved to > SW Michigan. I was a total Lone Wolf (borrowing from Eben Weiss, The Bike > Snob) in Vegas but I dream of having Real Life Bike Friends here. This List > has really been a gift to me, but it has also made me want more: I want > REAL people and REAL experiences with them. I have found a shop that hosts > rides of various kinds 9 months out of the year. There is hope! > > > The trouble is: I don’t know what I am, and neither does anyone else. > > I have never done a group ride. I don’t know how fast or slow I am, and I > don’t know how far I can go. I don’t know etiquette or what would tick off > other riders in the group. (My “group rides” were with my 2 sons on the way > to school. And it’s true that you learn a rhythm that works for your group > and on the rare occasion my husband got included, he made us all nervous.) > I would like to have a good first experience and not be a drag for a group. > I think failure would send me right back into Lone Wolfdom. I suppose I > will just have to risk it. > > When I say I ride, everyone thinks Roadie, and then they think of their > friend who is also a Roadie and want to plan a meeting for us. Now, I doubt > I’m going to keep up with a group of road bikes on my Platypus. When I say > I don’t have a road bike, the person will say, “Oh, you like to mountain > bike!” When I try to explain, try to say what it is that I ride, I don’t > have words. If I admit I don’t have a road bike or mountain bike people > assume hybrid bike from big box store = not a serious rider. I don’t know > what I am. I don’t know what “we” are. Where do bikes like ours fit? Who do > we ride with? > > In looking at local events online, it seems there are Roadies and there > are Gravel Kings (my own term). If I roll up on my fendered, raspberry > sparkle Platypus, both groups will be uncomfortable. > > My shop did mention some community rides, and those I will try, though I > suspect they might be short and slow for my taste. There are some very > exciting events state-wide here, but they do seem to be geared to road > bikers. I admit that I know very little about bike culture here, and > talking to real people might open up a lot of possibilities. Where are > these people I can talk to?! > > The locals tell me spring will be here in March. I’ve got 2 months to > figure out where I fit, Rivsters. > > Who can relate? Who has words of wisdom? Who just wants to commiserate? > Are we the outcasts of bike culture or are we unicorns? Where are we in the > Velotaxonomy? How do we make the cool people take us seriously? Should I > buy Lycra? > > What I wouldn’t give for a couple of RivSisters living locally… > 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/508ee6c5-6f56-4e96-a9bb-a46004729c56n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/508ee6c5-6f56-4e96-a9bb-a46004729c56n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- 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/adce9174-fb66-470b-a236-27d723f02114n%40googlegroups.com.
