07 May 2011

Roll your own (ride)

Ride #69
Saturday, May 7th
19 miles on the very busy and very lovely American River Trail

The meetup.com site (where two of the bicycle groups I belong to reside) has a feature where a member of a group can suggest a ride, and when enough people also think the ride is a Good Idea, then it becomes 'active' and we can all pile on on and decide the details.
Last September, someone suggested early morning weekend rides, and we finally did it, eight months later. Since I was not in charge (no one was - quite refreshing) I'm not sure how many folks we had: 8 I think?

Anyway, we wandered along the path, chatting, sightseeing, chatting, munching, and having a great time. I missed seeing the deer, but there was at least one. And I got gobbled at by a turkey. I think I was being cussed at by next year's Thanksgiving dinner. Just you wait! Revenge is sweet with a side of cranberries.


The weather was cooler than yesterday, but as we got later in the morning the pesky wind picked up. I am still tired from Thursday's long ride, so the wind was not my friend! Especially when I was slogging up a little hill, on the steepest part, and the wind up and slaps me in the face! Hrmph!

Now, regular readers of this blog might wonder where, on this 1st Saturday, the Sacramento Recumbent Riders were. Well, they were there at William Pond as usual, and I got a little bit of flack for showing up at the meeting place and time but not riding with them.

It was a lot of fun watching our little band of casual bikers checking out all the different recumbents there today.

Most of the folks in the casual bike group ride either mountain bikes, or bikes like this one: a hybrid or fitness or comfort bike.
Hybrid bikes are quite popular: the rider's position is quite upright so there is less strain on the neck and shoulders and wrists and back. I used to ride something like this, but my body can't tolerate even that much.

I have a wonky knee, so I'm always checking out other people's bio-mechanical form as they pedal along. And today I did a little good in the world and helped two of today's riders adjust their saddles a bit higher.

Starting and stopping on a bicycle (a conventional or "safety bicycle") can be nerve wracking if you have always ridden a bike with the seat too low. "But I want my feet on the ground!". So a couple of folks worked on that as well.
Nothing like an impromptu bike clinic under a shady tree by a lovely river!

Me, I can lie down on the job.


We started at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, a popular parking place for bike riders. It is, wonder of wonders, Free! so I was expecting a very crowded lot. However, it was not too bad. And it has been repaved with beautiful smooooooooth pavement. The old surface was like riding around attached to a paint shaker.


I experimented with the most reclined seat position available to me on my trike.
I like it.
I'm keeping it.

CU


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