Friday Follies ~~ The Winner!

The following is Steven C’s contest winning essay, reproduced here by his permission.  Thanks Steve, and congratulations!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

Imagine my glee when I found a notice online about a group ride in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where my family and friends planned to vacation for  a week earlier this summer.

Imagine my horror when I found out that the ride rolled out at 5:30 am from a location 30 minutes by car from our rental house.

The horror came not from the early start, although up at 4 am is a bit early even for me, but from the spoken (and unspoken) thoughts I knew my family and friends would have about my sanity.

And perhaps they were on to something. To be frank, I was actually most excited about the ride because I heard this was a FAST group that would probably make me suffer before the sun barely rose about the surf.

So, sure enough, one morning (night?) I loaded up the car in the dark and headed out for the ride.

I arrived before anyone else.  A friendly young woman showed up and welcomed me to the group. Soon a few other riders came and we rolled out at 5:30 am SHARP. A few of the riders said nice hellos and asked me questions: "Where are you from?" and  "Have you done this ride before?"  One even took some pity upon me and gave me a few highlights of the ride about to come.

After a mile or two of pure warm up, the group of 10-15 riders went into tempo riding at about 22 miles an hour on a flat beach road. That lasted for a couple of miles until someone lit the firecracker. The group quickly accelerated to 24 mph and then got faster and faster. Sure enough, it was all I could do to hold on and do my own short pull as the group hit 25, 26, 27, 28, 29. By then there were only 4 or 5 riders left. I fell off the back myself. Exhilirating!

 I caught up at a traffic light and learned we would do that twice more: tempo, fast, super fast intervals. After the second one, I lost the lead group at an intersection and waited for the B group to show up.

It is said, “What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.” Indeed, I could hardly wait for the two days to pass to get a shot at the group again. This time I fell off the back but was able to catch back on each time and did all 3 of the intervals.

True I wasn't the fastest in the group. Not even close. But I think I got a little respect for a "tourist" joining their killer ride. That said, they did tell me they were a little concerned about the psyche of a tourist who will do a 5:30 ride, while on vacation.

It was a fun addition to my vacation - meeting and riding with a new group. One of the things I love about cycling is the common bond we have with other like-minded enthusiasts from all over. We're all part of a unique and passionate group. As my sister, another cyclist has said, "I've never met a jerk who bikes." How true.

Now I can't wait to ride with a new group of not-so-strange strangers in New Hampshire later this summer.