My first official "bicycle rally" was today. I rode in the Collin Classic, which was a fundraiser for juvenile diabetes research. Wimpy me took the 15-mile loop, which was designed for mountain bikers only. About four miles of the route was on a gravel road.
It was awesome! The starts were staggered for riders doing 75, 55, 34, 22, 15 (me) and 4 miles. There was a great up-with-people group dynamic at the start. Then a few rolling hills took out the weezers and rank amatuers, and by the time I got to the gravel I was practically alone. There was a dude in front of me a hundred yards or so, and a few stragglers behind me, but that was it.
About the halfway mark for my route there was a rest stop. I grabbed half a banana and some cold water (my on-bike Gatorade was a tad warm by then). Then I went back for a bag of Famous Amos cookies and more cold water. Retooled and refueled, I hit the road again. Caught up to a father-and-son (probably age 11 at the most) near the finish, passing them also on a rolling hill.
The ride started a little after 8 a.m., but by the time I finished an hour and 20 minutes later, it was already in the 90s. Sunny, hot, dry, a killer day. For a while I had thought to my self, "Self, you should have chosen a longer ride. Maybe swapped out those knobby tires for slicker ones and really gone for it. Thirty-four or maybe 55 miles! Why not, you've –"
Then I told myself to shut up. It was freakin' hot and my rear (despite a wonderful pair of baggy bike shorts) was feelin' it. Maybe next time, I assured myself, another ride in another place. It was funny to see how the people and the bikes they rode kind of went down hill as the mileage decreased. For example, it was the Lance Armstrong wannabes doing the 75 miles, probably at a blistering pace. By the time you rolled around to the 22 milers or the ragtag knobbiests in my group, there were plenty of overweight troopers on squeaky discount-store rides making a go at it. That was one of the coolest things to see; we were all cyclists no matter what shape we or our bikes were in.
I can't wait until the next ride (I'll sadly be out of town during the Peach Pedal, which is in early July as part of the Parker County Peach Festival in Weatherford). I have a feeling it won't be the Hotter Than Hell 100, which is Aug. 26 in Wichita Falls. Even though the shorter routes beckon, this is going to be one summer that has already been hotter than – well, you know.
Well done!! You are right, it is awesome to see all kinds of people together enjoying the same activity no matter what shape or size!