Yesterday I rode in our first Team ride, from a park in Los Altos. There were a lot of new faces there: coaches, mentors, and participants. I met lots of new people, and thoroughly enjoyed riding with them. The big challenge will be remembering all the new names! One crutch I can use is our TNT web site, which has some pictures to go along with everyones' names.
As I had hoped, I'm already learning a lot on the cycle team. We went over hand and verbal signals that cyclists use to keep each other safe while riding in a line. I found that it's hard to use the hand signal "Stop!" on a bike, since you usually need two hands to brake! But I practiced that, along with much-needed practice clipping in and out of my bike pedals.
It was cold! I need to learn more about how to deal with the elements. I was pretty well covered up, but my toes went numb. I noticed that some riders use special "booties" for cold weather and will look into those.
We had a tire-changing clinic after the ride, and the coaches and mentors were really kind in walking me through "best practices" and sharing tips on dealing with inevitable flat tires out on the road.
Finally, we had bagels, coffee, and a panel to get to know our Honorees. Honorees are cancer patients who volunteer with the Team to share their stories and inspire participants to ride and fundraise hard! We had nine honorees speaking, and they ranged in aged from 11-50+ years old! Yes, that's right, we have an 11-year-old cancer patient in our program, and he rides with us! He's ridden up to 40 miles before. An impressive and cute kid.
It was a well-rounded and enjoyable day. I like it!
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