Another club (
bike shop) ride, another time getting dropped. But this time I knew what I was up to: riding with people much fitter, thinner and thus faster than me. So I did not care that much. I knew they would be waiting for me at the cafeteria in Canet d'Adri. And that coffee would be good!
Since I knew the ride would be hard for me and that it takes me a long time to warm up (been riding too much on my own, lacking pace, I have kind of "diesel engine"), I took my rental mountain bike for a 30-minute ride around Girona before 9.30. Then I got my rental Cannondale Super 6 at the shop, chatter a while with other riders, and off we went. I got a good start. No problems.
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| Getting ready. |
Today's club ride group consisted of some local fast riders, a few very fit members of a Dutch triathlon team, a Brazilian man who rode
RAAM this year, me, Anna, Jolien (fast local amateurs), and some even more random tourists than me.
The fast ones dropped me. The slower ones I left behind. So I rode 30 minutes on my own around Adri to the cafateria. We had coffee, everyone together, no hurry, lots of laughter, and continues. The busy ones, who had work to do and meetings to attend to, rode straight back to Girona. Some fast ones rode up the valley and back; they disappeared really quickly.
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| Discussing route forward at the cafe |
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| British club riders |
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| Carla, Jolien, and Anna having a laugh at the cafe |
A semi-fast group of 10 or so riders (the Dutch triathlon-women, the Brazilian RAAM rider, Anna, Jolien, a few British strong men and I) cont
inued over a few small mountains back to Girona. The weather was beautiful, the road surface smooth, views magnificent. It was a very nice ride. I found out that even with my rather heavy body I can do semi-well uphill, but I am totally hopeless in descending. I just do not know how to do it. I get scared! Badly.
I'd love to stay longer in Girona and go riding with the fine people I have got to know here. But I cannot right now. So, kind of unfortunately, I must return to Finland, where the winter cycling season is about to begin (snow, below 0C, blizzards, dark).
After the ride I had two pints of excellent Catalonian craft beer at
B12.
Here is the
route.
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| Girona bike shop ride 24/10/2013 - semi-fast, semi-long |
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