Shamrock

So a year ago a friend and myself entered a biking event.He is an office guy who I assumed was in average shape.I thought I was in good shape.He is about 8 years younger than me.We see each other socially,. talk about bikes but never got together.We get together after a couple of beers on ST Patricks Day.Off we go up to the lake.I have my 34 year old Schwinn he has a MTB .We gather around other cyclists I'd say 2000.00 to 6000.00 dollar road bikes.Our combined bikes don't equal 2000.00.Actually if I throw in the car its not 2 grand.We are ready to ride non the less.We are at the end of the pack, we are reminded its a biking event not a race.The gun goes off( I thought it wasn't a race)people take off like there is a fire on their butt.The front riders are out of sight in 90 seconds.Its a 40 mile event,rolling hills views of Lake Hopactong.When you are passing cars on the highway and the speed limlt is 35mph these are not rolling hills.To this flatlander these are mountains.I finish the race,I mean bike event but I came in LAST.The only good news was some people could not finish the event and had to be picked up.Here are my excuses i had no water bottle cage so I had to stop the bike dismount open back pack and re.trieve water bottle and drink.I thought it was a biking event didn't think it mattered.due to a knee injury I had to walk up some hills i mean mountains.BTW the walking the bike thing up the hills seems just as hard as riding up.My friend finished about 30 mins ahead of me I said thats about how much tme I spent trying to drink water.Anyway its coming up again this year.I'm not sure what to do.I haven't increased my hill climbing.but maybe all I need is a lower gear and a camelbak.I think now I'll go for it.BTW there is no such thing as a biking event they are all races.

Louis

I enjoyed reading this. Very witty.

Congratulations on finishing. Cycling has a tendency to become competitive which is a turn off for some of us. Perhaps you can find some future rides that are more to your liking.

In any case, get a bottle holder mounted to your bike so you can drink while riding.

David Bierbaum

I am in no way competitive, but I must say, there is just something incredibly annoying about the sight of a pair of buttocks on a bicycle, rhythmically receding into the distance in front of one. Well done, finishing that event.

B. Carfree

DFL > DNF > DNS

Dead fracking last is better than Did not Finish is better than Did not Start.

Well done and fun story. Do it again and give us another treat.

TiHabanero

I recall the first and only time I rode the Le Tour de San Francisco. This was a ride, not a race and people shot off as if launched from a cannon. Huge pile up before I even got started! Never road an organized ride again outside of those I organized myself or was an actual race.
Happy to hear you survived and enjoyed the ride.

stapfam

I roped a mate into a metric century a few years ago. He used to commute to work and had a respectable MTB but I realised that he was not up to my fitness. Quite hilly ride but nice quiet roads and I had a couple of mates doing the ride aswell. I could do a metric in 4 hours but this was my mates ride. I had to pace him on the flat- and uphills but he did it and in 5 hours. That was his first respectable distance ride other than the usual London to Brighton which is a Slow ride.

So start getting some saddle time in and find a few lumps in the road to climb. Camelback is a good idea for long rides but get a bottle and carrier on the bike aswell.

skilsaw

Having established a position and ride story that will become legendary in telling as you age, it is important that you repeat the performance this year. I encourage you to do it all again, but carry beer in your backpack.

Bikey Mikey

Finishing counts for quite a lot. I'm signed up for the TDC:Hampton Roads and Cap2Cap rides, centuries, and I'll bet anything, though it's a ride and NOT a race, there will be plenty who will treat it like a race.

Dudelsack 

The first few group road rides I ever did I showed up on a heavy MTB and I wore sneakers. It was ugly.

I ended up buying a road bike just so I wouldn't be DFL all the time.

On my road bike I was DFL about 50% of the time. I viewed that as a great improvement.

When I was jogging I read most of John Bingham's books, especially "No need for speed". He's a delightful guy. I still have his email response to a query on the influence of Platonism on his writings (he thought it was a cool question, and he had never considered it, but now that I mentioned it...).

Ive been pondering writing a book entitled "The zen of DFL". If I ever got around to it I'm sure it would resonate and I'd become the John Bingham of cycling. Besides laziness, the major barrier to writing this book is that I'd have to read more than Robert Pirsig and learn more about zen than I can glean from old reruns of Kung Fu.

But it's a cool idea.

berner

You will ride faster and be stronger on the hills if that is what you want to do and work at it. However, riding faster is not necessary for enjoyment of cycling. If you prefer to ride with other people you may have to find a different group.

The bike club here has several distances for every ride of, say, 20, 40 and 60 miles with distances getting longer as summer progresses. Consequently, there is a reasonable distance for cyclists of every ability and you can usually find people riding at a similar speed as yourself. It may be you need to find a more compatible group.

howsteepisit

I have finished first and last in events over 40 years. Either position is particularly important. That said, I believe there is an inherent competitiveness in most people that makes finishing last range from distasteful to downright painful. Trick is to not let that competitive part keep us from doing those things that bring use great joy, like a nice ride in the hills surrounding a lake.

GeorgeBMac

I ride for fun and for fitness. I'm not sure I would want to ride with people whose main goal is to beat me or if they don't care if they drop me.

... But perhaps riding with friends is not the same as a group ride...

It brings to mind a quote from a David Heinlein novel:

There is no such thing as "social gambling".
Either you are there to cut the other bloke's heart out and eat it
-- or you're a sucker.
If you don't like this choice -- don't gamble.

(Or go on group rides!)

droy45

Well done! That group couldn't care less if you disappeared or broke down and would never turn around to see if your coming. Nothing wrong with your equipment either, its just slower thats all. I have ridden in groups like that before and hated it. I have a real nice fast MTB that I built up myself as a commuter but its not a road bike. Its made for comfort and durability. On those type of rides I generally hang around the back of the pack with the slow bikes to make them feel good about their ride so they will return next time. Also, its ok to stop and rest and pull out a drink out of your pack. The bottle holder is a nice item to have and makes it handier.