Now, I'd like to think this all stems from my amazing trend setting powers, but I imagine most of the credit belongs to the bikes themselves.
Tonight, however, is the first time we will be attempting an actual, active conversion on some of our friends. They've been subjected to our constant raving about bicycles so they want to see what all the fuss is about. It would be a gross understatement to say that I'm thrilled.
They don't own bicycles, so they will be borrowing our mountain bikes this evening for the Bike Aboard! with the Great Lakes Touring Company and for the Century Cycles Night Ride. Hopefully, two rides in one night isn't overkill for them (I made sure to install some gel saddles), but they're anxious to participate in both. Somewhere around 20 miles for your first ride isn't something to sneeze at, kids. Methinks, they'll be a bit stiff come Monday.
Last night, we pulled all the bikes out and prepped them. The poor FX was quite nasty from Wednesday's rainy ride, so it received a healthy scrubbing (I'm still picking grease out from under the nails). The rest got their tires checked and mechanics tested. Then, we lined them all up in the garage. It was an impressive sight.
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| Seems we are building quite the fleet. From Left: The Varsity (sitting tonight out), FX, Diamondback, Redline, and Raleigh |
We picked up another set of lights from Wheel & Wrench and dusted off our old helmets. Everything is set to go. They'll be coming to our place to get a feel for their loaner rides and to make any needed adjustments. Then, we'll be heading down to Peninsula to catch the train at 6:20.
I hope by the end of the evening we will be adding to more names to the converted list. Not that I'm worried. Who doesn't have fun riding a bike?
Way to go! The more I ride and talk about it, the more people seem to give it some thought.
ReplyDeleteWomen have so many questions about practical considerations and perceived barriers. Each of us riding sets an example and can be a mentor/coach. Loaning out bikes takes it even further--cool.
Yay for some new recruits! Since I started cycling about 2.5 years ago, I can count at least 7 friends who've gone from no bike (or a huffy that they dusted off once a year) to nice road bikes or hybrids that they're proud to ride for fun / transportation / exercise with impressive frequency! Like you said, I'm sure I'm not the sole reason for 7 more cyclists in the world, but it certainly helps to show people that it can be done!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for riding with us on Friday too--I wish we could have stayed for the night ride! I'm excited to plan a more extensive adventure soon if you guys are in!
-Melissa from GY