When I left the bike shop to take my new position in the museum world, my boss asked if I would be interested in leading a ride during the week, knowing that in the summer I would have to work weekends.
Sure.
The thought then went out of my head, as I made it through Christmas, New Years', and the start of the new job.
Then as I began to figure out just what the heck I was doing as well as when exactly did I have time to work out...she called to ask if I was still interested to lead a ride.
That was in April...right about the time that my husband came down with Covid, my mom was visiting, and the boys were off for Spring Break.
Not the ideal time to add something to my list.
Of course, I said yes.
Knowing that my schedule would change in the beginning of May, I said that I would have a "Women's Wednesdays" ride. It would be a nice casual ride, and be in the morning.
The plan was to leave around 9:30am--after the kids are off to school or camp. We would finish around 11:30am--again, when kids may be coming home from school or need to be picked up from camp.
Our first ride was rained out.
The second attempt....well, I'm the only one who came.
But on the third try...someone showed!
On our fourth (technically third) ride...there were 3 (including me!)
It has been great!
Not only have there been great conversations, but also I think I've made some new friends.
We ride about 25 miles each time, and the routes vary.
Recently, I took the group on one of the rides I loved to do before work.
It is right along the river, on a fairly quiet road. The return trip can be either on the bike path, or the main road.
If we do it again...I'm going to recommend stopping at the small town for lunch. The deli there has great food offerings, and is bike friendly too!
What was once apprehension about leading the ride, has turned into enjoyment. I'm so glad I said yes.
Over the summer, we have gone out almost every week. Sometimes there is just me. Sometimes, just 2 of us.
Once we had 4!
New things are hard to get going. Not many people know about it, so it takes time to share with others.
Also, it was a pretty hot summer. In the 90s with high humidity at 9:30 am. I showed up anyway...just in case.
I've had a lot of fun planning routes, trying new roads, even testing out a ride so I could commute to work on a weekend! Which I did!
Now the evening rides are done due to the lack of sunlight (its getting dark earlier and earlier), but as I told the Listserv...The goal is to keep on riding until November 1, when my schedule changes back to Monday thru Friday. Or the snow flies, which ever comes first.
So after several months of Wednesday rides, today was our last one. And unfortunately it was rained out.
I'm so lucky that I still get to ride. Of course I wish I could ride more, but I'll take what I can get. Because it is a ton of fun, and better than riding indoors. Until next year....ride on!
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