Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.boze
07-13-04, 10:05 PM
so i got an incredible ass-whoopin today.
i went out for my usual 25ish mile loop after work today and a guy chatted with me at a light and led me out to a different stretch of rock creek parkway in dc that is just teeming with grouprides. i have really never ridden in a group and even though i was just in a smallish one for part of my ride it was still a life altering experience. ended up more like 40 miles and the middle ten was with maybe five boys and a girl and they were all stronger than me but it was flat and i managed to stay with them until it broke up. i then rode one boys wheel most of the way home who was also way too fast for me but was generous about the whole thing. the whole scene there is just great - bigger faster groups than any i'd likely need but that's not the point - the point is this: man oh man, find a group ride if you haven't done already - the bunch i was with was too much but it asked things of me that i'd be wholly unable to ask of myself even if i was with a couple of fast friends.
i guess the fact that it was flat where i was with them was what gave me a chance and they weren't the craziest of the groups that i saw -
i'm rambling here. but anyway, if there are folks on this board who are even less experienced than me with regard to zipping along at 5 to 8mph faster than you have any business going with a sweaty bunch of hard-driving strangers.. well, i'm just here to testify.
the highlight was when i got my one and only chance to pull and i dug deep for like a minute or so and was about to give my little 'here's me ****ing off to one side' hand gesture only before i got a chance the girl in the group passed me on the left and i guess the closest thing that you could call a 'thought' from me at that moment was like 'wow, she's strong.'
i went out for my usual 25ish mile loop after work today and a guy chatted with me at a light and led me out to a different stretch of rock creek parkway in dc that is just teeming with grouprides. i have really never ridden in a group and even though i was just in a smallish one for part of my ride it was still a life altering experience. ended up more like 40 miles and the middle ten was with maybe five boys and a girl and they were all stronger than me but it was flat and i managed to stay with them until it broke up. i then rode one boys wheel most of the way home who was also way too fast for me but was generous about the whole thing. the whole scene there is just great - bigger faster groups than any i'd likely need but that's not the point - the point is this: man oh man, find a group ride if you haven't done already - the bunch i was with was too much but it asked things of me that i'd be wholly unable to ask of myself even if i was with a couple of fast friends.
i guess the fact that it was flat where i was with them was what gave me a chance and they weren't the craziest of the groups that i saw -
i'm rambling here. but anyway, if there are folks on this board who are even less experienced than me with regard to zipping along at 5 to 8mph faster than you have any business going with a sweaty bunch of hard-driving strangers.. well, i'm just here to testify.
the highlight was when i got my one and only chance to pull and i dug deep for like a minute or so and was about to give my little 'here's me ****ing off to one side' hand gesture only before i got a chance the girl in the group passed me on the left and i guess the closest thing that you could call a 'thought' from me at that moment was like 'wow, she's strong.'