Last Bicycle Outlet Monday Night Ride for 2016
Fall made its presence known this evening. A bit of a chill filled the air as 50 to 60 cyclists prepared their bikes for the last Monday Night ride led by Bicycle Outlet for 2016 that was about to start. It usually starts at 6:30 p.m. which is good because traffic begins to let up by then. Tonight though, due to earlier sunsets, we started at 6. We all lined up for the pre-ride group photo and to have our noses counted. Then it was time to head out.
The route was the normal route, but for some reason it seemed like the group was further spread out tonight. We got through the stoplight on Republic Road at Fremont and it seemed like all the drivers tonight were courteous as we meandered through the neighborhoods of southeast Springfield. This group ride is a "no-drop" ride. That means that no cyclist gets left behind. We made frequent stops to regroup and to make sure we didn't lose anyone. Tassi and I stayed pretty much middle of the pack tonight. We were both dreading "the hill" as we neared it. We took the turn and started our ascent and it was the absolute easiest it had ever been! This was my third time climbing it and her first, but I had never climbed with Sirius (my Orbea Avant) nor while wearing clipless shoes. What a huge difference! We both cheered internally and Tassi even let out a whoop as we made to the top and stopped at the regrouping point.
When it was time to start up again we were glad that hill was behind us and will not be apprehensive about it next time after that confidence builder!
As we arrived at Plainview the lead pack got out of sight of the middle of the pack due to traffic. Somehow I ended up leading for a few blocks and my previous ride paid off as I remembered where to turn and we caught up with the leaders.
As we neared the end of the ride I told Tassi there was a segment where a lot of the riders would take off as fast as they could go, and sure enough it happened. I couldn't help myself, well I could have...but I didn't, and I took off too! It was good to let loose after coasting along and waiting so much along the route. As we pulled into the parking lot at Bicycle Outlet there was just enough sunlight left to load up our bikes.
We went inside the shop and grabbed a slice (or two), chatted a bit, and then headed home. Hopefully life will cooperate and we can attend more group rides!
