Two Wheel Blogs

Man! I have not said "club ride" in a long time.

The other night while commuting, I crossed paths with a big group of clubriders that invited me for a club ride last night. Sounded fun so I joined in.

I used to frequent these club rides a few years ago, and enjoyed them. I was fairly certain what I was in for when I signed on. This group of guys and gals was a lot of fun to ride with. A spirited bunch...there was even a full on effort for about a mile leading up to a sprint sign.

I rode to and from the ride, so I got some extra work, but the club ride was pretty respectable by its self...I think we were out for about 2.5 hours (I got an extra hour). This was a spirited bunch of cyclists of all ages and skill levels. We all had a pretty good time I would say. (The reason I got the extra hour was because I rode home really slowly.)

The route had some respectable climbs in it, so I got a fair share of abuse on my SS, but I also got some props from a couple riders for hacking it. I think every SSer loves this aspect of riding a SS...the people who think you are nuts. Little do they know that it is really not that hard...but the main difference is with gears, you get to pick when and how hard the ride is...and with one gear, the road decides when things get really tough...sort of like when you first started riding, and every hill felt tough.

I think that is why I do it. It is simple, clean, and it reminds me of the feelings I had when I first started riding.

One guy asked how I do it...the answer was simple...I don't have a choice. Walking sucks, so it is best to stay on top of the gear and get to the top of the hill. Once you figure that out, it is easy.