Out for a joy ride

Today I volunteered to lead a ride for the Cascade Bicycle Club. They have a weekly training series for their long event rides, and this week they were doing 65 miles with a starting point near my house. I needed to get a long ride in, so I figured I'd volunteer while I did it.

I rode "sweep" - the last rider - for the moderate (14 to 16 mph) pace group. There were four different groups; mine was the third. Therefore, my job was to make sure anyone who fell behind, had mechanical problems, or needed to stop had the map and knew the group behind us was coming and he could join it.

Well, I chose that pace group because John was with me and I wanted him to be comfortable, plus I was a little tired from last night. It turned out that the pace was incredibly easy - I felt strong and happy - so I was chatting with John and everyone else around me.

About 40 miles into the ride, we stopped at a scenic point. And this guy goes up to my co-leader, Albert, and right in front of me starts telling him that I'm not doing my job as sweep!

"You've got this girl whose out for a joy ride and not doing what she's supposed to!" he said. He was angry! "Someone got a flat back there, and she didn't stop to help!"

Albert tried to explain that it wasn't my job to stop and help; it was my job to make sure she was okay and could fix her flat herself (which is the responsibility of every rider; carry your own equipment and be able to take care of yourself if necessary), but he was MAD. Which, in turn, made me mad.

Fortunately, we were facing a three-mile hill climb, so Albert had me take the stronger climbers and race it to the next rest stop. Pushing hard uphill - and COMPLETELY dropping old bitter angry man - cheered me up.

Old bitter angry man did have one thing right, though: I was out for a joy ride. I always do it for joy. If I lead a ride, it's out of the goodness of my heart - I get nothing out of it, especially when the route is already set. If it ever becomes a chore or work, forget it!

I was so proud of John, too. The slower pace helped him to stay even in terms of blood sugar and level of effort, and he was only tired at the very end (when we have to climb the horrible hill by Danielle's house). So he had a really good time, too, and today's ride made me confident that he can do the longer stuff we're planning for later in the summer. Yay!

Couple of quick notes about weather/clothing - I need to start doing this more often so I remember what to wear for different conditions instead of always guessing: the temperature was about 50 degrees this morning and didn't warm up much the rest of the day. It sprinkled all day. I wore my pink running hoodie and BikeGirl skirt, light gloves, light booties. No leg warmers. I was a little cold when starting out after the stops, but otherwise okay. Had it rained heavier, I would have wanted a jacket. I'm sure if we were riding a little faster, I wouldn't have wanted the jacket.