Leah wrote: "...The locals tell me spring will be here in March. I’ve got 2 months..." I don't want to throw a wet blanket on any enthusiasm here, but I wouldn't necessarily get my hopes to fired up about that date. True, "meteorological" Spring begins March 1st, but we've had some really nasty, snowy weather during that month in these parts of the Midwest in recent years. So you may have more time to figure it out after all.
On Monday, January 17, 2022 at 8:31:09 AM UTC-6 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > [image: 0168267B-AB4E-4252-B2D2-09FC827BCB73.jpeg]We recently moved to SW > Michigan. I was a total Lone Wolf (borrowing from Eben Weiss, The Bike > Snob) in Vegas but I dream of having Real Life Bike Friends here. This List > has really been a gift to me, but it has also made me want more: I want > REAL people and REAL experiences with them. I have found a shop that hosts > rides of various kinds 9 months out of the year. There is hope! > > The trouble is: I don’t know what I am, and neither does anyone else. > > I have never done a group ride. I don’t know how fast or slow I am, and I > don’t know how far I can go. I don’t know etiquette or what would tick off > other riders in the group. (My “group rides” were with my 2 sons on the way > to school. And it’s true that you learn a rhythm that works for your group > and on the rare occasion my husband got included, he made us all nervous.) > I would like to have a good first experience and not be a drag for a group. > I think failure would send me right back into Lone Wolfdom. I suppose I > will just have to risk it. > > When I say I ride, everyone thinks Roadie, and then they think of their > friend who is also a Roadie and want to plan a meeting for us. Now, I doubt > I’m going to keep up with a group of road bikes on my Platypus. When I say > I don’t have a road bike, the person will say, “Oh, you like to mountain > bike!” When I try to explain, try to say what it is that I ride, I don’t > have words. If I admit I don’t have a road bike or mountain bike people > assume hybrid bike from big box store = not a serious rider. I don’t know > what I am. I don’t know what “we” are. Where do bikes like ours fit? Who do > we ride with? > > In looking at local events online, it seems there are Roadies and there > are Gravel Kings (my own term). If I roll up on my fendered, raspberry > sparkle Platypus, both groups will be uncomfortable. > > My shop did mention some community rides, and those I will try, though I > suspect they might be short and slow for my taste. There are some very > exciting events state-wide here, but they do seem to be geared to road > bikers. I admit that I know very little about bike culture here, and > talking to real people might open up a lot of possibilities. Where are > these people I can talk to?! > > The locals tell me spring will be here in March. I’ve got 2 months to > figure out where I fit, Rivsters. > > Who can relate? Who has words of wisdom? Who just wants to commiserate? > Are we the outcasts of bike culture or are we unicorns? Where are we in the > Velotaxonomy? How do we make the cool people take us seriously? Should I > buy Lycra? > > What I wouldn’t give for a couple of RivSisters living locally… > Leah > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/eba4cec8-db7b-4642-88dd-558dbd2bd233n%40googlegroups.com.
