Ahh, the weekly beatdown. Today's ride was as average as a group ride can be. Nothing notable occurred during the actual ride that was bike or ride-related.
The Stronger Cyclist rode with us today. I also saw Wes prior to the ride, there with a buddy of his who is new to group rides. Matt's got an Ironman to train for so he's probably in the pool.
Prior to the ride, I spent a few minutes showing my bike to a guy, his wife and son who live out on the route. They happened to be by the shop, they see us go by every Wednesday and the guy was mentioning it to his son. They were intrigued by the seemingly non-existent seat and pedals. I explained the whole "sit-bones go here" thing and showed them how the pedals clip into the shoes. As surprised as they were by the bike, they seemed even more surprised that I spent time talking to them. We hear "F'n bikers!" so much, I imagine there are folks who live out in the country that expect widely directed reciprocity from us, even if they don't have a negative attitude. I remember running into that when I started working with the equestrian community. A few kind words go a long way.
During the ride, a guy passed us on a bad ass, exceedingly rough and home-built-looking chopper with the highest bars I've EVER seen. I have such duality about things like that. On the one hand, it's impractical to ride and cries out for attention. But then, it is also legitimately impressive. Both the "engineering" of the bike and the size of the guy's balls to ride it so confidently. I wouldn't likely build such a thing but I'm glad that there are people who would because then I get to see it. It's the same thing that makes me want to go to Dragon Con and Monster Truck Rallies.
Long live diversity.
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