I'm featured this month in Dirt Rag!

Its on the stands now!

Go and buy it! : )

posted 10/25/2004

I'm tired of riding by myself (and no one wants to go riding with me)

I feel like myself again.

I just got home from an urban session at Cal-Berkeley with a riding buddy, where we ran into several other people riding as well. Not only was this the first ride I've been on in over a week, it was the first time in almost a month I have been riding with other riders. (other than the riding I did in Vegas during Interbike)
I feel invigorated, and my perspective on everything feels bright and uplifted.
How has my outlook on riding changed?

Well, I finally listened to my girlfriend and took her advice on becoming more pro-active in my search to find riding partners. While I don't have regular riding partners per se, , I do have a lot of prospective riding buddies, as well as few friends I ride with occasionally. I need this riding group to grow and expand because frankly, I just haven't been riding enough. Between schedule differences, and flakey behavior, I have been left to ride with Mr.Me, and the iPod. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, I just know I am tired of riding bikes by myself.

This afternoon was different; I got on my bike, and even put my helmet on. I didn't take my bike lock, change of clothes, sketchbook, or camera like I often do when I'm just riding around(to get out of the apartment). I dressed with the intention of getting dirty.

I decided I would head to the UC Berkeley campus. Side-O, a local (illegal) DH run, ends right on campus, so I figured it might be a local hub of freeride activity. While pedaling from Oakland to Berkeley, I got on the phone and called everyone in my phone (that rides) in the East Bay. To my surprise, I actually found someone that wanted to ride bikes right then. While dorking around campus at the rendevous point, I saw two guys on freeride bikes. Part of my new pro-active policy is to approach anyone that rides the kind of bike I like to ride and see if they want to go riding with me. My policy proved successful while I was in Vegas, and I had a great time riding, even with BMX kids that scowled at me because I was on a mt. bike. The point is, it actually works. I don't know why I forgot about this; perhaps it is because I have primarily been XC riding, and XC riders generally seem to be a clique-ish lot.

Moving to a new place can be hard, and it has been for me thus far. When I relocated to the Bay Area I had one friend here that rides, and he has been on the injured list with a hurt back.

The riding session wasn't that long, and nothing incredible was accomplished. However, I did change my bike's set up recently, so I finally got some time in on it. It was more about just being out and having company while doing something I really enjoy- that was the important thing.

I don't have tons of rides scheduled, but I hope to do a lot more exciting riding soon. I have started a phone list of people I am going to call on my days off. More importantly, I'm actually going to call everyone on the list and ask them if they want to ride.

I may even call them the night before- that's being proactive.
Hopefully I will soon have lots more to write home about.