Well the legs are tired so I backed off some. Of course the group says a beginner flat easy ride as you will hear the gal in the video mention, but it gets fast and some of the riders are pretty competitive. Of course I speak of the women ha ha! If they can drop you, they will ha ha! I have mentioned before, I have never seen so many strong female riders in once place before other than a race. But it is a fun ride if you have some kind of fitness and skill. Can't say it is a beginner ride as there is some handling skills required out on the road due to potholes, cracks, curbs, bike lane variations etc.
Heck, I do tend to sit at the back on the fast sections to stay out of trouble. I can't count the times I am the very last rider sitting 20 yards back watching everyone keeping myself safe. I do tend to work harder after we turn around in Covina. It's a gradual climb back to Upland. That is where I get my workout so I increase my effort there. Most start suffering there so I don't end up at the tail end here ha ha! On the way out it is somewhat of a descent and doing 25 on the way out is not too hard to do. But I don't see the sense since we will all regroup anyway. I avoid the high speeds in a group when I can. I either move to the front for footage of the faster riders, or I drop to the back and keep an eye on the group while avoiding trouble.
It has seemed pretty safe though over the last several rides but this time, I was actually startled scared by a rider, or two. Tony and I were heading east on Bonita. 2 riders behind us maybe 20 yards back. Tony and I riding side by side in the bike lane comfortably as the bike lane and shoulder are pretty wide at this point.
So approaching a signal intersection, the light switches to yellow then red. Seemed fairly quick so we did do somewhat of a quick stop but nothing that would cause any loss of control. Just a fast smooth stop actually. But the riders behind us for some reason did not stop. Not sure if they were not paying attention or just lacking skills. We made the quick stop as the light changed to red not wanting to take a chance. Just then, one gal goes blowing by me, BUZZING ME on my left side. The other rider, a guy passed Tony on his left at a pretty good rate of speed. WTF!!!! Not sure if Tony got buzzed but I sure did!
As the gal passed, she shouted, "Sorry guys, I couldn't stop!" as she blew the red light. Really? We made the stop being ahead 20 yards but they couldn't? OK, I stay back and watch the other riders to stay safe but someone behind you almost taking you out? Either they weren't paying attention or they are seriously lacking handling skills. Wow really? 20 yards back, if you aren't paying attention to the riders in front of you, you should at least be paying attention to the lights at the intersection. These are the reasons I have avoided cycling groups for so long. You get plenty of good handlers but always that one that lacks the skill or just plain doesn't pay attention. I enjoy the ride but after that, has actually made me think twice about getting hurt because of the actions of others.
But anyway, it was a good ride again other than that! Oh, a cop stopped by when we regrouped in a parking lot, the usual stop. As you can see in the video and pics, a near empty lot at a little strip mall. I guess someone working there called the cops and complained that a group of cyclists have been blocking the parking lot. Really? I've been on what, 6 rides and have only seen one car exit the lot while we were there. Erik spoke with the guy so I don't know every detail that was said, but Erik then tells us that the cop said people on the road were calling in saying that we were going to fast.
Wow ha ha! First time I have been involved in a group accused of going too fast up a 2% grade road for 3 miles ha ha! I don't know, seems you get in trouble when you take pics of your group in a little empty strip mall, riding high end bikes many of them, not like we're a group of homeless gathering in a business center. But if we were to start a protest and loot the businesses there, the cops would probably just stand by and watch ha ha!
So anyway, a good ride, interesting at times. Fun at times but I'm still watching my arse for those people who aren't paying attention and/or lacking skill.
Now this reminds me of a rider that asked if he could ride with Gina and I years back. Guy used to race and reading all the bull shit on the cycling forum, racers are highly trained bike handlers, OK ha ha! I guess I have read too much bullshit on the forum over the years. Anyway, this dude asks to ride with Gina and I on the road heading up to Fontana from Upland. Lemon, Wilson, Duncan Canyon roads. We get to an intersection, I tell the guy we're going left and even signal. Gina sees it, I would think he got the message with a verbal and visual. So we start to turn the he goes straight and takes Gina down in the middle of the intersection, in front of a cop sitting at the stop waiting his turn.
He takes her down but both are OK. She ended up falling on top of him and his bike so she was good. I didn't care about him ha ha! The cop shouts out on the loud speaker, "ARE YOU GUYS OK?". Yeah! But anyway, racer or not, got to watch the short attention span handling skill lacking types. I enjoy the rides, get a good ride and workout but this made me rethink the group rides. But I guess we run into all types along the way. I just know who to avoid ha ha!
The cool thing is that I get to ride with old friends. People I also met on cycling forums. Too bad the forum gods are such morons. Let's see, I'm out here riding with bike forum members, making vids and taking pics while the a holes who are posting on the forums are at home in their bedrooms riding a trainer ha ha! I'm such a hated guy on the forums for calling out the bullshitters but yet, I ride with the real rider forum members. Hmm! Again, look at the SART thread in the SoCal section. Couple of guys talking about a ride here and there but not one pic, video, or even touch of entertainment. Seems the idea of entertainment in that thread is, "I rode my bike and saw a homeless guy!". OK, one sentence entertainment ha ha while I'm out here riding with the forum members who don't even care to post there any longer because the moron forum gods have made it such a boring place. ;-)
Tony C, pretty in pink!
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