Cycling with the KL Cyclopaths.

Photo Credits Michael Winters and Jill

“It’s just like riding a bike- it doesn’t matter how long it is since you’ve done it, you never forget how.”

That’s the reassuring statement commonly used to encourage a person who is hesitant to try something they have not done for a while. So when the intrepid leaders of the KL Cyclopaths strongly suggested it was time I joined their Sunday morning ride – I just had to hope I had not forgotten how!

Although as a kid I had spent many hours racing around forest paths and along the river bank with my friends, as an adult in Vancouver, cycling was neither my mode of transport nor my favored physical activity. So it is literally several decades since I owned a bike and who knows what has happened to my sense of balance… or my quadriceps over that long time.

Anyway, new neighborhood, new lifestyle- so at the end of last summer I headed off to our very friendly neighborhood bike store that was having an end of summer sale and acquired a really cool bike, a lock and a helmet. After a very patiently delivered tutorial on using the gears - I don’t think gears had been invented when I last rode a bike – ok we may have had about three – I rode happily off into the sunset -my place being west of the bike shop – and only had a few short rides before it got rainy and miserable and I retreated back to the gym for the winter.

But finally today, dance classes over for a while, I had no excuse to duck out of the ride, the weather was cool but clear- and off we went. Three Mean Mothers (the really really fit dudes) headed off to the North Shore while 5 Part-Time Peddlers set off to Stanley Park.

So I admit, once a bike rider, it is part of you and my anxiety about needing training wheels dissipated immediately - only to be replaced by something far worse. It’s not exactly competitiveness (hmmm) but somewhere between an absolute determination to keep up with the leader and a fear of getting separated from the group (on the sea wall- go figure). So when the leader of our little gang took off like a bat from hell so did I. And although at times I saw the white shirt disappearing round a distant corner, on the whole for most of the ride I was not too far behind. Too my surprise it was quite an aerobic workout so we must have kept up quite a pace.
I must confess that I was too busy watching out for roller bladers, other cyclists and stray dogs to appreciate much of the beauty around me – next time a slower pace might be better. But an hour and a half later, back at our front entrance, I was aware of muscles I had forgotten about since anatomy class. Don’t think I will make it to swing class tonight without a rest.

However there is always a reward for hard work. And in the second pictures there we are, replenishing the amino acids and carbohydrates needed to restore our hard working muscles. Ok – it was actually beer and pizza.

But the Cyclopaths are just one of the social groups in our Kings Landing community. They leave 10:30 Sundays from the corner of Beach and Homer. So whether you are in the mean-mother or the part-time peddler category – there is a ride for you. And in case you are wondering, much as I love puns, I did not dream up the names. Credit for Cyclopath, Mean Mothers and Part-Time Peddlers goes to the organizer/leaders, B and L.

Keep reading to find out what else is happening in the KL Community.