Smithers MINNEAPOLIS

From Sascha at FALAA:

Went on the Birchwood girls ride this morning. Not much to say about it. It was one of the worst rides I’ve been on yet. The root of the problem I think is that there were too many riders. We had over 30 and lots of them were guys. I’m sad to say that lots of them were Birchwoodies.

We took Vernon Ave and Baker out to Minnetonka Blvd and onward to Wayzata. But we were strung out over more than a mile. Looked like the boys were setting the pace. Road bikes went ahead, leaving behind slower road bikes, some cross bikes and some hybrid/mountain bikes. The pace was faster than on the last ride I went on and, from what I’ve heard, faster than any ride all winter.

The route was hilly which contributed to the whole strung out factor. People in front would go fast but people behind would still have to brake, then the people in front would take off and only some of the riders could follow. I had one woman tell me it was her first ride with Birchwood and she thought it was supposed to be a slower, social ride.

So yeah, kind of a crummy social aspect. I think the boys need to go off and have their own ride without us from now on.

A friend of mine told me that he was out riding on Saturday and passed the Birchwood team ride rolling the other direction. It was a handful of the Cat 2 Birchwood guys looking tough and riding hard and then, more than a few minutes later, the rest of the team looking haggard and drained of all life spirit.

Having been on rides with the Birchwood guys in the past I know full well how strong the boys are and how they love to light each other up at any and every opportunity. That’s totally fine in April on the ride out to Afton/Stillwater when the racing season is looming large on the horizon. But, it appears, these guys also run the motor red hot on the club ride in January.

When I ride with the Birchwood team, and I see that a few notable riders are on the ride, I know that it is going to be a miserable experience. At that point I can choose to go home or take advantage of the misery in order to improve my fitness. However, it is usually pretty clear from the start how far the ride is going and how hard the ride is going to be.

Making your team mates grovel in the gutter the last week of January, on a ride that was clearly advertised to be an “all team women’s ride” seems more than just a wee bit lame.