By James Durand
I’m sure you’ve all heard how much of the world, being limited to doing very little of their normal scheduled activities, took up cycling.
It makes perfect sense. Being able to exercise, explore, and even socialize while being distanced and safe. It is an amazing opportunity to go a little further into your adventure than walking will allow, and SURPRISE! Everyone was reminded how awesome riding a bike feels.
From my point of view it was pretty cool watching so many people re-discover their bikes and how young it kept them feeling. Despite all the chaos, I saw a lot of smiles over the last two years.
On the other side of the coin, all those in the bike industry had far less free time, more stress, and in the end, we all missed out on a lot of riding, but just being a part of that whole craziness of keeping people riding was well worth it.
But, is there a third group? Apparently yes, there is.
I’ve bumped into a few of my old riding buddies over the last month and discovered that many hard core riders have let it slide away. It went from riding three or four days a week religiously, to once or twice a month, to half a dozen rides all year.
When I asked them how that happened they had to think a bit, then realized the lack of group rides may have started the decline.
I know it is hard to get self motivated and I have skipped many solo rides because of … fill in some random excuse here … But when I have a group, or even one friend to ride with, I’m 100 per cent in. No excuses, ever.
You may have read over the last few weeks about my plans, goals, and drive to ride more this year. I want to put COVID behind us and get back to riding like an obsessed idiot again. I want mountain biking, road riding, commuting, cruiser rides, and riding a few times a week with my kids.
No matter how unrealistic this may be when considering my schedule, I lead three group rides every week, so no matter how busy life gets, I am guaranteed to have three super fun bike adventures every week, all summer.
So, are you one of the ex-hard core riders that somehow stopped riding, or almost stopped riding? Do you feel less fit and more stressed?
I challenge you to make the simplest of steps. Join us on one group ride.
I bet you’ll quickly be reminded how easy it is, how fun it is, and how addictive it is.
Before you know it, you’ll be riding a few times a week, and your body and mind will thank you.
Check out our website for times and locations.
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’, Hopefully you are too…
