Saturday was my first official group training ride with the California AIDS Life Cycle folks. For a grand total of 28.5 miles, we rode from Culver City along Ballona Creek, through Santa Monica, up through Brentwood (along Bundy) to Mount St. Mary's College, through the VA, back to Culver City. Combine that with the ride to the meeting point and back, and my total for the day was almost 40 miles. Pretty cool. I discovered that I'm a strong beginner for a group cyclist. I keep a good pace, and I have good endurance. I can also climb steep hills (I did the last part of the Bundy hill 2.5 times!). Woo hoo!
I do have a lot of learn about riding in big groups. Since I am a commuter, I don't follow group rules very well. I'm not accustomed to stopping when it isn't absolutely necessary, and I am definitely not used to always yelling out signals and warnings to other cyclists. I am much more used to yelling at passing cars who are trying to run me off the road. During my worst 5 minutes on Saturday, I couldn't unclip on my right foot resulting in cutting off the ride leader. It was horrible. After he advised me to get used to alternating my feet for unclipping, I tried unclipping the left foot for the next stop sign. You can probably imagine what happened next: I proceeded to crash when I couldn't figure out how to properly shift my weight. When I replied that I didn't really hurt myself, another rider said, "But you hurt your pride." Ummm yeah...
After the training ride, we headed over to a training workshop where we didn't learn very much. Since I have already had my bike professionally fitted to my body (best decision ever!) and my only knee injuries have been a result of other activities, I didn't really learn much. It was sad. Most of what they talked about was common sports sense and the rest of it was so technical and performance-oriented that I can't see myself caring. Do I really see myself getting VO2 tested and strapping on a heart monitor?
My experiences Saturday did further elaborate something I had only vaguely perceived before: the huge cultural rifts within the biking community. I am a commuter which means that I don't care too much about speed: I'm happy to be outside and not using cars. Most of my decisions regarding gear have to do with practicality. Of the cyclists who ride on roads (as opposed to mountain-bikers), I am the extreme opposite of the weekend riders/warriors who drive their bikes to meeting points even if it is within 5 miles of their homes. I have also heard road cyclists complain about triathletes. I can't really understand this. Aren't they way more athletic and well-rounded than the rest of us? Whatever. The way I see it, the more people who ride the better. I also heard some smack-talking about bike messengers. Again, I am completely mystified. Maybe I'll better understand the more I take part in group rides.
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4 comments:
You're a LifeCyclist!! What's your number? Did I ever tell you that I did the ride back in 2004? I think that was the year... it was the first year of the LifeCycle (rather than the money grubbing AidsRide.
Anyways, I took a spill on my first training ride with clips, and took the person out that stopped beside me. It hurts our egos but it is better to get it over with early on.
I remember thinking how silly it was when they announce every single possible obstacle, as though we could not see for ourselves. But remember that riding in a huge group amplifies problems exponentially, as you found out when you took that spill. When someone doesn't yell out that they are stopping, it is not that hard to end up on your ass...
Also, you'll quickly get used to doing all the yelling out for stops, or for car doors the more you ride with big groups. Remember that "the ride" will have over a thousand people, not just 20 or 30...
Just remember that riding in a group any small safety concern is helpful. Soon you'll be chewing out those "newbies" that don't signal their turns, or announce their stops...
ps... the person I took out when I spilled, was none other than my girlfriend, by the way.
Oi Beto! My Life Cycle number is 5866. I'm planning to post about my most recent training ride later today. It was absolutely amazing with no hurt egos!
Also, I'm glad to hear that all the group rules eventually become second nature.
We should go for a ride once your fieldwork is done.
hey KG! So my ex-wife, Yanira (the one I wiped out) is riding again for the 4th time. She is rider #6109.
I think she might be doing some training rides with Shifting Gears. She's the tiny Venezuelan that's really fast!
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