James et al, hope it doesn't come across as I'm tooting my own horn for being a do-gooder. I was trying to communicate how special and unique I think the individual on this list are. On-line and in the flesh, a good bunch of folks.
This moment was brought to you by Halmark. \ On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 7:13 PM, James Warren <jimcwar...@earthlink.net>wrote: > Thank you for taking the time on that, David. Every time I've ridden with > people on this list has been one of the best rides I've been on, and it's so > cool that from here to Seattle, there are plenty of nice opportunities to > get together. The Diablo garage sale ride was excellent. Big crowd of Riv > Riders in Walnut Creek that might have been bigger than the crowd in San > Diego last April. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: cyclotourist > Sent: Oct 10, 2010 5:27 PM > To: RBW Owners Bunch > Subject: [RBW] Why I like you guys > > Yesterday I'm out for a few hours of riding, and I see a couple cyclists > ahead of me. As I'm pretty slow, I'm amazed that I'm catching up to them. > Watch a bit more and I figure out they're looking at a que sheet and I'm > guessing lost. > > I catch up to them, and find out they're part of a quarterly "three clubs" > ride involving three (!) of the local bike clubs. They're basically getting > to the right area, but tell me of the crazy route they had to follow to get > to this point. Lost several times, and receiving conflicting info from > different pedestrians and drivers. > > Their sheet is all messed up with some directions crossed out and new ones > penciled in. They tell me their club buddies left them in the dust 20 > minutes after the start of the 50 mile ride. Niiiiice... > > I'm going in the same general direction and offer to show them where they > need to go <http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclotourist/5065705915/>. > They're a little slow, but not that bad. No reason to get dropped! Plus it > was sold as a recreational ride, and NOT a training ride. Along the way I > invite them to follow me on my intended route as it's 15 miles of beautiful > back roads just a bit further up the road. They tentatively agree to that. > > We make it to the water stop, and run into a chunk of the other riders. > Everybody's > kinda' standing around and not generally > enthusiastic<http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclotourist/5066319966/>. > Not the friendliest lot. And as for me, they were doing their best to > pretend I didn't exist. I didn't need them to bend over thanking me for > helping their club-mates out, but a little "Hi, nice bike, how old is that > thing anyway, you really ride a saddle like that?" wouldn't have been too > tough on them. > > I go and get water from the fountain (wouldn't think of using their > precious bottled h20) and come back to hear them telling these two ladies > how awful my route is, full of homicidal traffic and multiple construction > sites. I look at the two, shrug my shoulders and tell them it's a great > ride. Low and behold, my charges trust me once more and keep on going up > the hill in order to drop into the valley. We do this while watching the > rest of the riders turn back and return the way they came. > > We end up having what one of them described as "One of the best rides I've > ever been on." Success! We hit the canyon and ride for at least four miles > at 25-30 MPH without pedaling once! Crazy cool tailwind that pushed us the > whole way. Minimal cars, some construction and plates on the road, but no > biggie. Lots of cows and horses to look at, a train goes by. Just neat > rural riding! > > I guide them to their meet up spot at a coffee shop just as I get a flat. > I'm out front fixing it, while their club mates again do their best to > ignore me. In the meantime two of the baristas come out and ogle my bike, > practically drooling on the saddle. > > And that my friends, is why I enjoy our SoCal Riv rides so much. The > contrast is just amazing. Lots of different speeds, but everyone seems to > end up having a great time. Thanks to everyone that's been able to meet up > for one, and I hope you can make our upcoming Fall/Winter > series.<http://www.flickr.com/groups/socal_rivendell_bicycle_appreciation_society/discuss/>:-) > > map here: > http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Redlands-to-Wildwood-and-San-Timoteo-Canyon > > > -- > Cheers, > David > Redlands, CA > > *...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would > probably benefit more from > improving their taste than from improving their performance.* - RTMS > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- Cheers, David Redlands, CA *...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would probably benefit more from improving their taste than from improving their performance.* - RTMS -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
