When I got into cycling in 2015 I started to hang around with cyclists I met through the Freezing Saddles winter cycling competition. Great people, and (in non-Omicron times) I still join them for coffee on a regular basis. The problem is, many of these folks are hardcore cyclists beyond my abilities or interest – people who’ll knock out 100 miles like it’s nothing, and so I rarely ride with them. Even if you’re a fast cyclist, riding 100 miles is an all-day commitment and I just am not interested in spending as much time in the saddle as these folks do. As I’ve said before, my kayaking friends are people I kayak with, whereas my cycling friends are people with whom I drink coffee. There’s a Meetup called the NoVA Casual Bike Group which caters more to cyclists like me. I went on a couple of their rides years ago. The problem is, the group is quite large and their events usually fill up almost as soon as they’re announced. I got frustrated trying to get into their rides and gave up o...
One man's journey into the great outdoors of Washington, DC and its environs.