Do you remember?..
Your first bike, the one your parents got you with training wheels?
The first time you rode without training wheels ?
The new found freedom the bike provided you?
Riding as an adult (especially if you gave up riding after high school) and hearing encouraging words from another cyclist ?
Climbing a hill faster than previous attempts and in a larger gear?
Keeping up with the ?fast cyclists??
Passing those fast cyclists?
Riding your first group ride? First century?
Now, do you remember???
How scared you were when riding next to cars for the first, or 1,000th time ?
How you felt having a pack of cyclists wearing the same jerseys fly by you?
Tensing when a car, bus, motorcycle, or another cyclist flew by a little too closely?
I ask you to remember these things so you can recall both the joys and situations that reduce that joy of cycling. These thoughts came to me after a conversation with a friend of mine who was passed by our group.
Here?s what happened: On one of our group rides (there were about 20 of us that day) we passed this friend while climbing a short hill. He relayed to me that only two of us said anything when passing and the two that did were toward the back of the pack. That means 15 or so of us passed by these other cyclists (he was riding with another friend) and said nothing. No ?on your left? or ?coming around.? No ?hello?, ?good morning? or even a "get out of the way." This friend reminded me that passing silently is unsafe, discourteous, and reflects poorly on the club. Like it or not, our group will be judged by others by our actions and comments or lack thereof.
I take this incident as a reminder to renew my effort to ride safely, friendly, and give a positive impression of the club that I?m happy to have found and be a part of.
Thanks,
Anthony
unsafe cyclist, this man really belongs to that group, remember an old saying that, same feather flocks together.