Thanksgiving Riding

On Thanksgiving, I decided to head with Frank and Asa to the annual Turkey Day Ride. I've never done this ride before, so I was pretty excited. Rain was on the forecast. I rode The Diva (my Grammo) even though there was a possibility of getting yucky. That's what soap and water are for.

There were about 100 riders who gathered around. We all chatted, did whatever people on bikes do before a ride, then we headed out. From what I've heard, there weren't as many riders as other years. Roadies see a little rain in the forecast and chicken out. Me? Well, I'm a roadie, but I hang out with mountain bikers; I'll never hear the end of it if I chicken out due to some rain.

On one of the first stretches, a herd of horses were running with the group. They'd gallop with us, do a circle, check us out, gallop with us again. It was a great game and an amazing sight to see! These are the kinds of sights that make cycling so worth it.

We kept riding until we reached the market in Rancho Murietta. I learned that there was a dirt section. Out of 100 or so riders, 9 decided to do the dirt section, and I was one of the dummies who went. Why? Again, I hang out with mountain bikers, I would never hear the end of it if I had bailed. Ever.

I've never done any dirt riding like that, especially on a road bike. It was pretty scary. Yes, I'm a huge wuss. There were some pretty slippery parts. On one section, Asa and Frank slid in front of me on some mud. Cue Asa's, "Weeee!" I went after them, cue my, "EEEEK!!!" Yes, Asa and Frank laughed at my terror. But I stayed up. The road was bumpy. Duh. Dirt road. But I kept going like a little trooper. The more I rode the more I relaxed my death grip. My hand hurt quite a bit, mostly because I have no idea how to ride in those conditions. Never have I said, "Shit. I want an uphill" in my road cycling career. I took it nice and slow, mostly because I wasn't sure of what to do. I stayed away from my brakes on the downhill, though. Even though I was scared senseless, my reflexes told me, "DON'T TOUCH THOSE WE WILL DIE!!!" So, I rode. Some of it faster than I wanted to, but I learned that that's what I was supposed to do. Brakes on that type of terrain are bad. Hooray for me.

We got back to the asphalt and I was so happy. The roads, even though they're pretty crappy, felt like glass after riding the dirt road. As we were riding back we got some rain. Oh, it was raining alright. We were soaked. I clenched my fist and a lot of water dripped. We kept riding, muddy water hitting our faces. While this sounds extremely shitty, it wasn't. It was one of the funnest rides I've been on.

Asa and Frank popped a few cherries. I rode on the dirt, got over some fears, and had a blast riding in some pretty good rain. I got dirty. My bike got dirty. I guess these mountain bikers are rubbing off on me a little too much. Pretty soon you'll see me riding a mountain bike... Nah! ;)