Month: June 2015

Bicycling magazine has had a long on going effort to get more people riding bikes. They threw out the challenge again this year and encouraged people to get someone they know to get on a bicycle and start riding. Challenge accepted and for the first time yesterday in about 20 years my girlfriend rode a bicycle! I have to admit it wasn’t all my doing and it’s something she wanted to try for a while, but the timing worked out and we rented her a bike (a nice Giant Defy) from the local shop and headed over to the local university where they have a nice 3 mile loop with little traffic and a decent surface to ride around.

There was a little trepidation at first and some fleeting thoughts of falling down. But after a quick instruction my sweetie was off peddling around the parking lot before I could even get my helmet on! Soon enough we were out on the loop and the easy gear I had set up the bike in was too easy so we did a little on the road shifting instruction and there was no stopping now! By the end of the first lap she was shifting the front and rear like a champ and handling the bike very well and we were just cruising around the campus enjoying our time together.

The proof is in the smile!

In all we completed 3 laps of the campus is about an hour. We weren’t setting any KOMs, err… QOMs, but for the first time out in 20 years she did very well and I’m so proud of her. Unfortunately the rental had go back today but we will probably rent it again, maybe for a week while we start the process of shopping for her very own bike!

And in case you are interested here is our ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/335506233

Maybe I don’t ride in the right groups but whenever someone starts talking to me about their MPH on this or that ride I just start to tune them out like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Now don’t get me wrong, I love stats as much as the next person and always look over my ride data on Strava after a ride but I don’t think it’s particularly interesting to someone else for me to tell them that my average speed on my 20 mile loop is up by .4MPH.

Now, bragging rights aside, I’ve have been on group rides in the past where some riders will take this to the next level and will refuse to walk their bike at a rest stop because their computer will average that slow wheel speed into their stats. This usually results in them picking the bike up, or at least the rear wheel and roll it on the front only (or vice versa depending where the speed sensor is). In a few instances these same riders would break traffic signals, signs and laws to not stop on their bike – now that just downright dangerous and insane. I refuse to ride with the group if these individuals have signed up for the ride. Coincidentally enough these are the same people who fail to call out road hazards when they are on the front. Probably don’t want to increase their drag by pointing out the hazard.

I just think sometimes we worry about the numbers too much and forget to just enjoy the ride.