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Club Member Spotlight Bike Stories Of course I had a bike when I was a kid, like everyone else. I rode it around my neighborhood with my friends. It was blue. Just one speed, and back-pedal brakes. I remember riding with my best friend Marion, past a teacher’s house we both had a crush on. Mr. Marsh, American History; poor guy. I didn’t get another bike until much later. It was a mountain bike, around the mid 1990s, for Christmas. I was really excited about riding again. It turned out to be one of the most fun ways to get some exercise. At first, it was a big deal to ride from my house in Fremont along the Alameda Creek Trail, all the way out to Coyote Hills and back. We took our bikes on camping trips in California and the South West. I enjoyed riding trails, but found that I was enjoying riding on smooth road better. So I got slick tires for my mountain bike, and would switch back and forth, depending on where I was riding. One day I was changing tires in the living room, pumping up my slime-filled tires. I guess I hadn’t put the tube in correctly. The tire exploded and fluorescent green slime sprayed all over the room, hitting just about every surface. That was fun to clean up before my boyfriend got home. I started signing up for organized fund-raiser rides around the Bay Area. I was getting more comfortable riding in traffic with other cyclists.
In Bicycling Magazine I read about one of the best multi-day bike events in the country, Ride the Rockies, and decided that was my next challenge. I signed up for my first RTR in 1999 and was chosen from the lottery. Excited and nervous about being able to ride over all those mountain passes, I bought a road bike and trained according to their suggestions. I grew up in Colorado, but now had lived in California for quite some time, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle the altitude. There was a real sense of camaraderie amongst the cyclists there, and they assured me that if I had trained well, I’d be OK. It turned out to be one of the best cycling experiences I’ve ever had.
To date, I’ve done the ride four times. Every time has been a different experience, but I have ridden over some of the same passes and visited some of the same towns a few times. I get excited every February, when they publish the year’s route and open up the lottery, then I think, do I want to do it again? I enjoyed the camping; the staff was so enthusiastic and helpful. The food was great. There was always a Smoothy station and the infamous Cookie Lady from Durango was there. The host towns go all out to be hospitable to the riders. Summer weather can be unpredictable in the Rockies; with temperatures ranging from 100 degrees around the Royal Gorge (where I dumped a bottle of water over my head, too late to realize it wasn’t water, but my bottle of Gatorade), to waking up to frost on the outside of my tent and 30 degrees! I remember doing a gradual climb of 50 miles to the top of Lizard Head Pass and really looking forward to the 20 mile descent into Telluride. Tired from the long climb, and with the weather worsening, I had a very scary, chilly descent in rain and sleet on the way down! Some of the flatter areas get strong headwinds, or my least favorite, crosswinds, and getting pushed all over the road! The only time in RTR’s history when a day had to be canceled was in 2004. The first day we started in Boulder and encountered a down pour about 15 miles before getting to Estes Park, the first night’s stay. The SAGs were so busy, so my friend and I decided to tough it out. We put on our rain gear and made it into Estes Park and set up our tent in the rain. That night, it started snowing over Trail Ridge Road, where we were heading the next day on our way to Granby. When I woke up the next morning, we found out the road was closed, so no one got to ride their bikes that day. The staff, at the last minute got huge trucks to haul all our (rain-soaked from the day before) bikes, gear, and (2000+) riders around a different route to get us to Granby by that afternoon so we could continue on! It was truly impressive to witness the successful logistics of that day. We all celebrated heartily in sunny Granby with the town’s barbecue dinner and the beer truck!
I‘ve also done some fun bike tours, in Cuba and the South of France. It’s one of the best ways to see a new place, experience a different culture. The local people tend to treat cyclists differently than other types of tourists and are more friendly.
Several years ago after finishing a ride in Colorado, I thought it would be more fun riding with other people. I was getting into a routine of riding the same roads, and often by myself. I checked out FFBC’s ride schedule and decided to go on some club rides.
I wish I had thought of this sooner! Joining the club was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the members and discovering new places to ride. The club ride leaders do a stellar job at keeping track of everyone and making the rides fun. Three years ago I started helping with the Primavera Century event. My background is in art and graphic design, so I’ve had a lot of fun designing the jerseys, posters and other promotional materials for the event. The committee members are all dedicated and hardworking. Each year’s event just keeps getting better and better, and I’m happy to be a part of it. Lately I’ve also been doing more personal artwork, and some of the subject matter relates to my bike and the roads I ride.
Riding a bike has been life changing for me. It has given me experiences that I will never forget. It has put me in touch with some fabulous folks, young and old, who, like me, get on their bikes and ride down the road towards that next adventure. |
