February 2019 Paceline News
by Pat Boling, WRCC President
Bicycling junkies really miss warm weather and being able to go out for rides several times a week. I know, I’ve become one. Although I’ve ridden bikes and commuted by bike to work my whole life, I didn’t always ride so much—I only started road biking recreationally in 2002. The first few years it was mild: I’d ride here and there, not too fast. I led and went on other people’s D rides (they were called B rides back then). I’d do bakery runs to Brookston a few times a summer, and figure out new routes by consulting Charlie Myers’ 8 ½ by 11 inch collection of maps of rides in Tippecanoe County. I ran a lot, and swam a lot too. Since I wanted to do some tri’s, it made since to amp up the cycling a little bit. Around the same time, I started dating, and my first boyfriend was a cyclist. It was love at first sight! He talked me into some crazy stuff—I was one of those inexperienced riders on the Hilly Hundred in 2002, barely 3 months after buying my first road bike! (I still remember the guy who came and helped me brush off a bunch of wet leaves and salve me ego after I did a slo-mo topple when I failed to unclip my right foot on Mount Tabor, a really steep hill. He was so sweet about letting me know he’d been there before too!)
Little by little I crept up in yearly miles, hitting 1000 miles in 2006 or so, and edging into the 2000+, 3000+ etc. range until reaching my present 5000+ level. (Did I mention that I’ve been fairly obsessive about exercise my whole life? It’s been a strategy for keeping stress and tension at bay and a source of well-being and self-esteem.)
Needless to say, once you’re spending that much time cycling from April to November, the cold weather months put a pretty big crimp in your style. This winter I’ve rediscovered an earlier love, swimming, and rejoined the local master’s swimming group after being lured into a swim meet by Kevin Johnston in December. That, plus some gym workouts and going to yoga once or twice a week, is helping me get through the cold months feeling challenged and getting regular endorphin fixes.
Here’s the cool thing: it turns out that there are several WRCC folks who are part of the master’s swimming scene: Kevin, Mike Moya, Greg Stout, Pamela Hermes, Dan Gadbery, plus some folks who drop in with us occasionally, like Julie Peterson. Whatever you’re doing to feel fit and strong through the winter, I hope you’re having fun and making new friends. We’ll find out riding buddies again before long, now it’s the season to experiment with other loves!
Some announcements: first, people who’ve earned a T shirt through riding 1000+ road miles, please let us know by February 12 what size T shirt you want by visiting this Google Doc and selecting your desired shirt size from the drop down menu to the right of your name. Names are listed according to 2018 club miles. Board members with less than 1,000 miles are at the end of the list. *Only individuals who select a shirt size will receive a shirt. We will not order extra or guess at sizes.* There are more details about the shirts in an email from Ryan Stremke sent on February 7.
Second, our annual all-club meeting is this Sunday, February 10, at 2:00 pm in the McCallister A Room of the Tippecanoe County Public Library. Come with your thoughts about where you’d like the club to go in 2019.
Third, if you plan to attend the club banquet on February 23rd at 6 :00 pm at the Lafayette Brewing Company, please respond here ASAP. We want to order enough food to keep you happy! Cost this year is $10 per person. Only people over 21 will be admitted.
See you all at the Sunday meeting! Stay warm.