Where'd Everybody Go?
 

Gee, I go away from the forum for a few years, and when I come back, everybody I knew is gone! There used to be a big group of riders on the Peninsula and in the Southbay who were active on the forum, but I don't see their names anywhere.

Is anyone getting together for rides on the Peninsula anymore? I'm thinking 'Low and Slow' at first, as I build my fitness back up, but there don't seem to be any!

Man, I miss the old BF with great group rides.
I think it's been hurt by Strava, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+. There are just too many options....

Yeah - it wasn't a real BF Group Ride unless somebody crashed on a descent!

Twitter really killed it coming to the forum for me.
Now I don't Twitter all that much either. I'm still regularly on Strava and Facebook but it's not the same as the forum.

Life moves on too...I'm still in touch with a bunch of the folks who used to post on here on a regular basis, but now it's through Strava, email, twitter etc.

Come to think of it OP, you disappeared for a few years too - what gives?!

I stopped riding for a while. Not completely, but mostly. New job, life's complications, other hobbies, etc. I do that from time to time, go deep into a hobby for a while then get interested in something else.

Then a coworker started getting into cycling, and coming to me for advice about training, routes, etc., and my interest was rekindled. Talking about beautiful places for him to ride, and I wanted to ride there again. But, after an incident a year or so ago when I overdid it and got overheated on a hot day, and couldn't cool off, I'm being more methodical in building up, and not getting fooled on those days when my legs tell me they could keep going forever.

It's funny - every time I come back to cycling after a layoff, I rediscover how enjoyable it is.

^^^^Yes, this.

I have limited time to play. I need to ride, and to take the time to post to these Social Media places negatively impacts my ability to fo business. So I post on the places from which I receive the biggest return on investment: Facebook, Twitter, Strava, Google+.

This is my first visit to BF in months.:o

I kind of miss some of the old group rides we did. That insane ride from Ms. Incredible place, the Pho Ride aka Mt. Hamilton Ride.

I'm like Red~ so many options these days and not enough time, I only pop in here once in a while, and spend more time on Fb. I'm also riding less, and working on my Etsy shop more, as well as trying to like running. (Good lord, how come running doesn't let you coast??)

+1 to the old school BF Norcal rides! For myself, I moved to Portland a year ago... still see a lot of folks on teh twitters though.

A bunch of Norcal forum people got really into racing -- blastradius, pelikan, ygduf, ifox, i met through BF but stayed in touch through team mailing lists/forums. fudgy chris in particular has just absolutely killed it, working up to E3 and winning tough races at that level.

Labor Day 2007... I remember it vividly!

First time I've checked in here in months and see your post :). Past few years I've watched my cycling activity dwindle (along with my fitness) to nearly nothing. Hoping to find that spark again...

I still check the Nor Cal forum on a regular basis. The large group rides are a thing of the past as people's lives have changed with different priorities. Fast people got faster, slow people slower (compared to fast) and medium people got mediumer. 99% of my riding now is solo when I look over my rides on Strava and Garmin connect.

Anyone want to have a Fall, New Moon, Jersey Reunion Ride on Saturday 10/5 or Sunday 10/6?
Maybe follow along the HoP route which kinda of a flatish 50 miler.

We lost Pete - Taxi777. He was the spiritual "glue" of the group.

The group drifted apart when he got hurt and had other problems. Stopped riding for a while and disappeared from here.

They were fun times...

He's still out there alive and well ya know...

Like Bostic said, things move on. I don't think folks could have kept that kind of mileage up as a group while people's jobs get busy, get married, have kids etc.

I so would do this, I miss BF rides, and all the wonderful people I met, and new routes I was introduced to.
But that's the Diablo Challenge weekend, and I don't want to burn up Saturday when time trailing Diablo Sunday. I'll be slow enough as is.

I just realized 10/5 is Levi's Gran Fondo which my wife is riding in.
Maybe 10/12 or 13?

We're still around!

Ruth typically works 2 weekends a month, so often times a group ride just fell on the wrong day... etc.

Anyway, we recently starting to ride more again... I was thinking of starting up the San Mateo Hills Night rides again after DST is over. :)

Heh I got fat, but still will be up for BF ride. Will there be Pho involved? There should be Pho involved!

Pho Sho!

I think it has been a couple of years since I last visited this forum. This place was a real thriving community in the past and we had some awesome group rides. I seem to keep intouch via Strava and FB nowadays.

Got a mountain bike and then tore my knee to shreds (not on the mountain bike), which cost me almost a year off the bike, which kept me from here. Building my way back up. Selling the mountain bike for a Warbird. I'd be up for mixed terrain group rides in the north or east bays. Slower, shorter stuff, as I'm still building back my base.

If anyone is checking this thread. Yes, somehow I'm still alive!:lol: I've been in life's washing machine agitator for a few years which turned into an airplane going into a spinning nose dive! At this point I've stopped the spin and I'm pulling back on the flaps and the ground was close but the nose is starting to pull up...
Also 2008 I hit 10,000 miles in one year and got seriously burned out, along with a financial upheaval which led me back into some serious darkness. To run away from my ghosts, my angst, depression etc. I began to literally RUN! This month it has been 2 years since I began running. Marathons, Trail running. Everything I could get my feet on. I miss the old BF'rs so much. This month things started rolling better for me in life. My running acomplishments have given me Mental, Physical and spiritual strength of which I have never experienced. I love to run...This week I rode with a good friend ( a runner) and I finally stopped running and looked back...I love the bike. I embrace my 3 year train-wreck of a life I've been experiencing. I think I just need to grow in a different direction for a bit. Out of the box, challenged, pushed to the limit in a completely different direction. I feel better and more worthy of the good friends I spent so much of my time with back in the day. I want to take some baby steps back towards that. Although it may be difficult. Day long rides are a bit of difficulty with two separate careers that I now seem to have. I've very busy but I know I need to make time for what is really important and that is communion with friends that I have so much in common with...anyway that's my spiel. I'm going to start checking back in here. I love this forum. It meant so much to me back in the beginning when I was in real trouble and found so much support and friendship that really got me through some rough times. It's a good balance (this bike thing) to my running addiction. Hope to see some of you again in the years ahead. Maybe not all that often but with the same fun and flare as days gone by...Man that sure sounded corny...

I've pretty much been on Google+, and active on various Commuting communities. I'm also on Twitter and Facebook. I've been also spending quite a bit of time with the Peninsula and South Bay Meetup Group.

I'm still riding, but on a recumbent now. The ride rhythm on a 'bent is so different than an upright road bike (fast on flats, slow on hills), I don't ride with a group anymore. Like Bostic, 99% of my rides are solo.

The other things that's changed is that I'm getting so much slower as I age. Just don't have the power I used to. Oh well, getting older is better than the alternative :(