I’m not generally a sexist. Okay, maybe I am. Ever since the boys started getting faster and bigger than me in 7th grade. Up until then, I could hold my own. No one thought to tell me that they would get a hormonal advantage and it took me a while to adjust.
When I took time off from “serious” athletic pursuits to raise a family, I was grateful for the men of strength in my life. Still am. Especially my amazing husband. But that doesn’t mean I have to like always being behind them. Running, biking, swimming. But maybe it is better for relationships that way.
When it is just my husband running circles around me or offering to push me up a hill on my bike (I do NOT let him do this), it’s not too stressful. He is kind and patient, and I know he likes to spend time with me. When it is a larger training group that includes rough and tumble experienced men that I’ve barely met, it is sometimes overwhelming. Most of the men are very nice, but I often feel like I am holding back the groups. Only a couple of times has a man, usually younger and thinking he is helping with his tough brand of encouragement, spoken to me in ways that are belittling.
That is why I became interested in the Ladies Only Group Ride organized by Rolling H Cycles in Nampa, Idaho. I met the owner of the shop when training for my first triathlon about 3.5 years ago. Then, I met his wife last year on a mixed group ride. She, Michelle, would be one of the 3 women leading the ladies ride and I knew I could trust her.
All 3 of the leaders made me feel comfortable right away. Michelle, Pearl, and Michelle were obviously much more experienced than me, but looking forward to making the ride enjoyable to everyone there. There were only 7 of us all together, including my 17 and 19 year olds on their mountain bikes, so communication was easy.
Age was not that important of a factor in anything. I may have been one of the oldest, but so were two of the leaders. And they weren’t wimps. I’m sure they could hold their own among most men when riding. Still, they showed every sign that they wanted ALL of the participants to have a good ride. They kept the group together at a pace that was invigorating, but regularly checked on how each rider was doing and what each person was ready for next.
Like the monster hill. As when I went riding with the Nampa cycling group a couple of time this spring, I learned about a lot of back roads, and wasn’t always completely sure where I was. The HILL this evening (June 10) was most likely Roosevelt Avenue between Lake Avenue and Indiana Avenue near Lake Lowell. (my Garmin agrees with this) Here is the photo I took at the top. (click on any photo to enlarge)
It was going down the hill on parallel Lonestar Road that was most nerve wracking for me. Everyone passed me at speeds that made me shudder. The light bounce of my road bike on the roughly paved road made me feel like too much speed would jettison me into the roadside gravel. There won’t be any hills that steep on the triathlon, so warp speed is not on my training checklist… At the bottom stop sign, all those speedy riders were waiting for me with no condemnation.
Once back at the shop, I deposited my bike in the back of the truck. My girls would drive home and I would attempt to run the 4 miles home. It was only my second week of dedicated brick triathlon workouts, so I wanted to stick with it as much as possible. But, man, was I tired and my legs were well used. The legs kept a reasonable 8:30 minute mile pace, though, for the first 2.5 miles, until I hit chip seal and no sidewalk options. The rough road did slow me down. However, I was able to run completely barefoot 3.75 miles because there had been a good cloud cover most of the afternoon and the cement was not at all hot. I walked the last 1/4 mile on sharp asphalt.
So, I went riding with the girls, but I don’t feel too namby-pamby about it. The group riding was both inspirational and helps me prepare for riding around multiple bikes, like I will be doing in the triathlon. I think this group is a perfect fit for me right now and I hope they don’t mind seeing more of me!
