Sunday the 4th La Feminil bike tour was held in Los Fresnos. It was a very well-executed event which showed a lot of thought and organization had gone into it. It looked like a couple hundred women showed up, and despite the "all-woman" billing, there were lots of men there--mostly spouses who looked anxious for their wives to get involved with bicycling.
The only downer moment of the day came just before the start when a woman was invited to come to the microphone where she proceeded to recite a magazine article about how it was okay to be a woman and work hard to excel in athletic things. All kinds of drivel about how beauty comes from within and how you look your best when you're doing something you enjoy. Anyone who signs up for an all-woman bike tour does not need to be given permission to be competitive and play hard.
There were two tours: a 10 mile and a 25 mile. When the point came for the 25-mile riders to split off from the rest of the pack, like a fool I took off with the 25-mile group. I was doing pretty well until I got to the second rest stop. There were two signs: one directing the 25-mile group to go straight on, and another one telling the 10 mile group to turn south and head back to camp. My hands had gone numb and I started coming up with a bunch of stupid excuses, and before I knew it I had turned south along the 10 mile path.
Since I'd already come some distance on the longer 25 mile route, I logged about 14.5 miles in total, finishing in 1:29:17. I think I am going to have a bike fitting and see what that does for the hand numbness issue. Anyway, hats off to the organizers--it was a very nicely done event with lots of sponsors. Everything went off smoothly and I got to see some neat sights I've never seen before, like the town of Indian Lake. That place is really beautiful. I hope to ride this tour again next year.
02 March 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
