B Groupians

Yesterday, I convinced my girlfriend, Leo, to ride our regular club ride in the COLD!  We actually had a ton of fun and got in a 41 mile ride.  In the summer, our club usually divides into 4 groups based on ability level.  In the winter, we have 2 groups most of the time.  Usually we all ride together to the first stop and I love we started really doing that.  There we split up...in the winter, I usually like to ride between 40-50 miles at a reasonable pace.  We also made up a new language along the way.  Geekinese, Autonese, Leofer, Jenona...be glad you weren't riding behind us because we cracked ourselves up.

Yesterday, there was 7 of us in the B Group.  Now, this is nothing against A group cause I love 'em and there are days I wish I was that fast!  So, when Claude and I were chatting about the groups and he said he would be in the A group soon.  I said we were more interesting and besides we would cut a ride short to eat.  So, in our new language, this would make us the B-Groupians.  What is a B-Groupian?  We ride anywhere between 18 to 22 mph (sometimes more and sometimes less) steady. We crack ourselves up when riding.  We cut rides short to eat or talk about food while riding and what we will eat when we are done.  Some of us make these crazy mileage goals and ride LONG several days a week in the summer.  We are quick to go back and pick up a stragler or two and slow the group down.  Sometimes we will ride as slow as the slowest person and don't mind a bit.  It's not always about the speed but the ride.  Do I ever want to be in A Group and want folks to think I am a fast cyclist?  Do I get offended when someone says (when we are riding 17-18 mph on warm up) that's fast for you?  Yes, both of those things are true.  Do I know some people will say you are not trying hard enough or have some other rude comment?  Yes.  Here is the bottom line, I like being a B-Groupian.  I like riding where we can chat sometimes, I like laughing, I like eating, I like riding long at a steady pace, I like helping people love the sport I love, I like staying with folks that fall off because someone helped me and it is only right to pay it forward, I like that sometimes it is about the ride and not the speed, I like not always feeling like it is this big rush to get through with the ride, I like being where people don't make you feel bad about having a bad day because we all have them.  I like getting off my bike and then going to lunch with friends in cycling gear so I don't look crazy in spandex alone.  Luckily, my peeps, although they could easily be A groupers, are B-Groupians too. So, ride on B-Groupians, ride on!