Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Guys, I want to join a cycling group, but I'm scared! My bike ain't that fancy, I don't wear colourful spandex, and I have no idea how to ride with a group.

50mi with 8k of climbing will put some pain in the legs and mind for sure :)



What do you mean by cycling group? a team? or just participate in group rides? Either way Id start by finding some local fun/no drop group rides (C/D), show up early, and talk to the people. It would be a good idea if you could talk to whoever runs it before hand to make sure your comfortable with the pace and route. Most of the people who attend the friendly group rides don’t care about your bike or clothing.

Key with riding in a group is to be smooth, dont make any sudden direction/speed changes. Sit in at the back and enjoy the draft.

Just group rides to start. I'm sure the people will be all friendly and such, it just feels scary to put myself out there with cyclists!

Start at MEC! http://www.mec.ca/Apps/communityEvents/ ... C&Id=46910

That event looks like it might be a good place to scope out group rides in Vancouver, and maybe meet some cool bike folks as well, and from that link, you can check out the MEC events calendar for other cycling events. You can also ask around at bike shops for good races to go and watch (go see a cyclocross race - they are the funnest, and the people are generally friendly and chill), as well as group rides. Lots of bike shops organize group rides.

Good luck - cycling is the best, and I am so happy to have found such an awesome group of people to ride and hang out and drink too much beer with.

Also, I'm hoping my sister (your age - lives in Vancouver) will have a bike soon, so if all else fails, you could probably ride with her for hi-larious hijinks.

Oh! Awesome! Thanks JoPa!

Also, if your sis is looking for a road bike, I've got one I'm looking to sell. It's nothing too fancy, but it's nice and light and good for commuting and longer rides.

I can't remember the name of it, but there's a meetup.com group that focuses on social group rides in Vancouver. have a look, and if you can't find it by the time I'm at a real computer, I'll dig it up. they did pretty regular events for 'normal' people at a super friendly pace

What's the bike, what size, and how much are you asking?

Let us know what kind of rides you find. I'm wishing you lots of fun times!

catching back up on the giro. forget which stage maybe 16? was amazing. plan on downloading them all and rewatching.

caught the last 4 km today. murder. tomorrow...

http://road.cc/content/news/59088-giro- ... vio-219-km

...more of the same. and then some.

today was pretty amazing. Hesjedal is looking good for pink in Milan if he can keep up tomorrow. he looked comfortable today, just hope he didn't overdo it.

loved seeing Cav getting beat yesterday too (nothin' but love for Cav, but competition is nice!)

wow. those of you who haven't seen today's stage yet are in for a treat.

amazing, hey? still hasn't changed my pick for tomorrow, but it'll be about a hundred times more interesting

incidentally the Tour of Belgium is running at the moment. what will the Belgian media run with? haha

Marianne Vos broke her collarbone. :(

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/11958 ... crash.aspx

For those who are unfamiliar, Vos is pretty much the best female racer in the world, and is such a major badass that she FINISHED THE RACE, taking second place, following her injury.

^yep, Kristin Armstrong is in the same boat. ladies got medals to defend in London too. fingers crossed for the both of them

I have started riding the ute more and more. I love it! I also feel pretty proud of myself that after not riding for two years I can make it up two of the three hills by my house while carrying a heavy bike, Grey and groceries!

That's pretty impressive/awesome littlebear. When I came out of work today I had a flat. I hate changing rear flats so I decided to walk the few blocks to the shop and see if they weren't too busy. Well they were crazy busy but told me they'd fix it (a great perk to my bf working there, even though he wasn't there today). Not only did they fix it but refused to let me pay for it. So I'll be taking in some cookies and beer next week. I love my shop.

Hesjedal! the right man won, which was awesome to see. Rodriquez did a pretty good TT though, considering. and De Gendt put in a huge effort, considering his ride yesterday!

I'm pretty gutted Cav missed out on red though. guy deserved it. if it weren't for the crashes in earlier stages, he'd almost certainly have picked up enough points to pull clear. that's bike racing though.

only a week until Dauphiné :) I'm *really* curious to see how Cadel is performing

You guys are so inspiring! After lurking in this thread for a long while this weekend, I rode to work today! A little over 3 miles, and I did walk it up one hill, but it felt really good and was a lot better than I was anticipating. My goal originally was to do it 1 time this week to start and the. Do it at least twice a week until its too cold, but as long as I'm not dying of soreness tomorrow, I may bike in again in the morning! And I love my bike basket. I do need to figure out how bike gears work, though, but I think I can figure it out..

^hey that's super awesome! welcome to the fray :)

even if you wake up sore tomorrow, I promise it will only get easier after you blow out a few cob webs :) here's hoping you feel good! soon you won't be walkin' up no stinkin' hills..just leaving a trail of smoke as you burn your way up them :D

Yes, welcome!

I remember the first time I rode to work. It was about 3.5 miles, and there was a (to me at the time) sizeable hill at the end of the ride. I got about 1/8 up it and walked the rest of the way thinking, "how do people ride up these things???" Now, the hills are my favorite part!

Check out some rides at Velopalooza! There will be a ton of people in the same boat as you. Also, I'll come on any of the 50+ rides available if you want company.

oh broseph. you're on. I thought I was going to miss Velopalooza! (and here I was debating whether or not to bring my bike)

the best way to overtake on a road gap during a DH race...

jaysus

right. as unpleasant as this is... vegan chamois cream? any recommendations? as the temperature increases in
line with my mileage i'm thinking i should be taking precautions. well, afterwards i think: 'i shoulda taken
precautions...'