lancaster bicycle club!

turns out such a thing does exist! despite predictions to the contrary on yonder eljay, i went on a ride with them yesterday.

the course was listed as 22 miles, rolling (as in rolling hills), with a pace of 11-13 mph. now, 11-13 mph is slower than i am used to going on my bicycle. my cruising speed around chicago is about 15, faster if traffic lights and wind are in my favor. i even had my eye on the "A" rides listed on the LBC page, with a 16-21 mph speed. perhaps faster than i'd go on my lonesome (unless i was late for something), but absolutely doable, especially with drafting.

so this ride would be cake, despite the fact that i was neither well hydrated nor well rested at the start of it. a slowish pace for 22 miles? all over it.

but the hills, my friends, the hills. this was not a thing i took into account. they have some flat rides, too, and also hilly, very hilly, and mountainous. you can see terrain classification details on the bottom of the LBC homepage. i will not repost the "rolling" category here; it is kind of embarrassing.

and why is it embarrassing? because i was absolutely worn out by the ride. holy crap. i left about 4 miles before the ride's ending and took a shortcut home, accompanied by a fellow named tom (i think) who lives nearby, on spooky nook road. the shortcut was about 4 miles, though, so i don't feel like too much of a cheater. to assuage my feelings of inadequacy, tom assured me that this was one of their toughest rolling routes.

[very soon i will write about the actual ride right here.]

thankfully, the LBC rides in early january i might make it to are all flat. and hopefully biking around lancaster and getting shamed by these hills might lessen, might lessen veeeeerry slightly, the ass-whooping i will receive on Da Tour. but some riding, however pathetically i perform, is certainly better than the alternative.

...right?

i leave you with the following write-up of Da Tour, found here. emphasis mine:

Tour da Chicago
A unique winter tradition in the city is the now-infamous Tour Da Chicago. With roots set in the bike-messenger scene, the unsanctioned Tour Da Chicago draws its inspiration from the alleycat style of bike racing. The simplicity of these events endears them to their participants. There are few rules and stipulations aside from a starting point and end point, with a few twists usually thrown in for good measure.

Recent editions of the Tour have drawn many of the same names found on top of the results pages of high-profile road races in the summer. If you're a rider who requires structure and support for your events, you might consider sitting this one out. However, if you want to meet some passionate cyclists and treat yourself to a unique perspective on riding in Chicago, you should seek out this rollicking affair.

While the stereotypical alleycat racer might be found riding against traffic on State Street with his hair on fire, the reality is that Tour Da Chicago races are only as dangerous or safe as you make them. Information on the Tour Da Chicago appears spontaneously at www.tour.chicago.il.us.