I met my friend Dale at the ride so I would have someone to talk to in case it got rough. He was just coming off an extended hiatus from back surgery so we decided to go easy on the "no drop" ride. We met up with about 40 or 50 other cyclists in the parking lot at Jack and Adams and divided up into three groups. The advanced ride had about a dozen people and they took off first. The intermediate ride had about 30 riders and they went next. The beginner group that I was in stayed around for about 5 minutes to discuss the route, riding etiquette and safety issues. We went over some basic signals and how we would be riding in a group.
As we were standing over our bicycles I looked around and surveyed the other riders who had made it on time for the 8:30 roll out. There was about a dozen of us riding road bikes, triathlon bikes, mountain bikes and a hybrid. As our group leader James was finishing up the last details a girl rides into the parking lot and begins to circle the group. Her circling didn't seem menacing but there was definitely something peculiar about it. James asked her if she was going to ride with us and she said yes but that this was her first time to ever ride with shoes that clipped into the pedals so she was afraid to stop. After a few words of encouragement from the group she came to a stuttering stop but still on her feet. We applauded and then headed out.
Our route was out Cesare Chavez to Lake Austin boulevard and on over Exposition/Enfield. We eventually made our way to Shoal Creek. James explained to us that "no drop" meant that nobody got left behind. If some of us got cut off at a stop sign or red light the rest of the group would wait for the stragglers to catch up. We rode at a pretty leisurely pace. It wasn't a difficult ride but there were sections that we could speed up to get the heart rate going. At about 12.5 miles we stopped where Shoal Creek runs into 183, for a water break in the shade and then headed back.
The girl with the new shoes still had not fallen at any of the stops and everyone was still together so we were doing pretty good. On the way back about half of us sped up and missed our turn so now we had a two "no drop" rides going. We made it back to Jack and Adams in under two hours which made our average pace about 13-14 mph. Like I said it wasn't an intense ride but it was perfect to get the feel for riding in a group and learn the basics. Everybody was very nice and there was supposed to be free tacos waiting for us but you have to get back to the shop before they are all eaten.
I am glad I did it and I am looking forward to the next week for the intermediate ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment