Newbie
Priscilla and I went out for a quick early Sunday morning ride at the Fullerton Loop. For some odd reason, Sundays is a popular day for newbies to ride the trail. I’m not sure how it is in other parts of the country, but for Fullerton, that’s when they come out to ride.
As we got ready we saw a handful of guys getting their bikes ready and you know they are newbies because they looked like how we did when we first started. You know what I’m talking about, sneakers, regular clothes, backpacks, water bottles, helmets and gloves from Walmart and ofcourse, a newbie bike.
But what was cool about seeing the newbies was the idea that everything is fun and not so serious for them. When I first started mountain biking 117 years ago, being new to the sport meant that every little obstacle and hill was an accomplishment. Any new trail was a great adventure and any new gear was something to be cherished.
Not that I’m saying that I’m Mr. Pro Experto, but what I’m saying is, I miss fun rides. I think with the race series in play, I’ve missed out on the fun of riding. With all the training, and fast paced rides, and a goal to be better at the next race, we can easily forget our roots of having fun.
So with that said, Priscilla and I will be hosting a “relaxed vibe” ride in the near future at Aliso Woods or somewhere fun. We haven’t mentioned much of the “relaxed vibe” in a while, so we figured it was about time to bring it back. On your next ride, just have fun. Take an easy non-race pace and enjoy the scenery and lavish in the beauty that is in front of you.
I like relaxed vibe rides especially if you combine it with someplace new or relatively new.
I wish I could join you for one of those “relaxed” rides. I’m so slow all of my rides are “relaxed”.
This makes me think of the recent race post, and another reason that I don’t race. Since I don’t have a car, I do everything by bike, my biking has 2 sides, commuting and recreational riding, Here in reno, every time I hit the streets, I Have To “throw my weight around”, dodge cars, get honked at, cussed out etc, so I treat myself by going on relaxing Recreational rides, even when I SS, its a short, probably fairly flat ride, and if I were to throw training rides in, it would defeat the purpose.
Does relaxed mean an easy ride? I’d like join you guys on that ride and drag my friends too.
2 weeks ago we had a newbie with us at Fully and this past Sunday we had a newbie too at Bonelli–its how you present the sport to them. Give them something hard and chances are they wont come back. But show them a good time, take the time to show the ropes, wait and encourage them on climbs and descents and its all great fun.
this why I’m still riding…