The B360 and the Joy of Cross-Training

Contrary to perhaps popular belief, one doesn't ready herself for a marathon by running all the time. First of all, you increase your chances of injury and second of all, it's about as exciting as watching grass grow, running 6-7 days a week. I try to schedule at least a day of cross-training each week to mix things up a bit and give my body a rest from running, which is a brutally high-impact workout. Today, I decided, after assessing the feelings in my knees and Achilles tendons (which have, oddly, been acting up a bit), would be a good day to go cycling.

Cycling in Boulder. Three little words that fit together rather perfectly. Given the generally mild winters, perfect spring and fall and usually warm-to-hot summer weather, it’s easy to see why the town is Mecca for world-class cyclists and triathletes. Being a commuter whose sole transport is my bicycle, I greatly appreciate this, as well as the fact that, given the town’s general trend towards wholesome, healthy, outdoorsiness, Boulder boasts an incredible network of bike paths, both unpaved and paved, bike lanes in almost every road, and a usually fairly bicycle-friendly vehicular community. People in this town who’ve lived here for more than a few months are quite used to stopping in the middle of the street to allow pedestrians to cross. It’s just what you do.

Sadly, I’ve not been a very good “cyclist” per se. That is, I have been riding my bicycle around this town for years and have stuck mostly to the bike lanes and roadways rather than the paths. I have little idea where these paths are and even less of an idea where they lead to. As I am a person who’s usually—unfortunately—in a hurry to get to where I am going, I don’t generally ride random bikeways to see where they lead to. While I pride myself on my sense of navigation (okay Gregory, I know I’m going to hear about this from you) I know that after a few turns onto connecting paths I’d be hopelessly, utterly lost.

So when I found out about the B360 and B180 bike tours that were to take place today as part of Boulder’s celebration of Bike Month, I figured it’d be a good way to determine where at least some of the trails go. The B360 is a 19-mile (actually, 21-mile, as a newfound friend’s bike computer reported) loop starting and ending at one of the town parks that threads all over Boulder. The B180 is a 14-mile loop that does the same thing. I packed a bag, filled my Camelbak, slathered on sunscreen and took off on my awesome Bianchi cruiser. Upon arriving at the park I registered for the 360 and, shortly thereafter, took off amidst the crowds of families with kids on tandem bikes, attachments, kiddie bikes, cruisers and trailers, and the rest of the cyclists: the real cyclists who are decked out in head-to-toe Pearl Izumi gear, Oakley/Smith/whatever the flavor of the week is sunglasses, helmets and $4000 - $5000 roadbikes; the cruisers (a small contingent of the regular Thursday evening cruiser ride, complete with blaring sound system); and the posers, who were decked out in the same gear as the real cyclists but weren’t in anywhere near as good shape or rode anywhere near as fast as the real cyclists. Wannabes, I guess.

I learned a couple of things on the ride today:

1. Boulder is NOT a cycling democracy. There’s a hierarchy that has been established and carefully guarded here, and you know your place really quickly. At the top are the real cyclists, who don’t care enough about what anyone else is doing; they’re out for their own ride and don’t pay attention to you as long as you stay out of their way. Next are the mountain bikers and cyclist commuters, people who ride daily or often and/or spend significant amounts of their free time seeking out new trails and riding them. Next are the posers, and last are the families. The cruisers round out the bottom but mostly because they are usually inebriated and often, quite loud as well. The posers think they are up with the real cyclists but they haven’t attained the speed, endurance, or shapeliness of calves that the real cyclists have, so they’re just bitter when you pass them. Especially if you’re on a cruiser. I got a lot of dirty looks today, an unexpected and rather surprising occurrence, considering this event was billed as non-competitive and wholesome fun. I wanted to say, hey man, don’t get pissed at me, get your ass out on your bike more often, but by the time I’d have gotten all that out I would be wayyy too far ahead of them for them to hear me.

2. People are just stupid sometimes, and you have to live with that. Despite the fact that this city, for its size, probably boasts a more intelligent, intellectually-based population than other cities, there are a few morons who you just have to put up with. There were the couple on the tandem bike, who after announcing they were passing me and assuming a place in front of me, slowed down considerably, forcing me to pass them only moments later. There was the father of some sizable family, three or four little kids, who decided a good place to stop was the pickup to a path that was only as wide as his bicycle and trailer and therefore, stopped the flow of cycling traffic altogether. There were the students tubing in the creek who thought it best to, instead of lounging on the soft grass under the shady trees along the creek path, stand in the middle of the bike path instead. When my friend Mike clipped a woman who we thought was moving out of the way with his rearview mirror, I was neither surprised nor apologetic (yes, I get apologetic about my friend’s screwups). Rather, I was wondering what on earth they were thinking wandering about the bike path while hundreds of cyclists per hour whizzed by from every direction. And we were going slowly! And, while I greatly appreciate GOBoulder’s organization and support of this event, there was the idiot raffling off prizes who kept putting the tickets that went unclaimed back into the pot, therefore lengthening the raffling process by about fourfold.

3. Life sometimes surprises you nicely, and when you least expect it. I was heading up around 28th Street minding my own business, when a man on another cruiser pulled up beside me. We joked a bit and I eventually pulled off my headphones and stuck them in my bike basket, and we chatted for pretty much the rest of the ride, though he had to slow considerably a few times to allow me to catch up to him. Looking at his legs I immediately discerned why: he sported the cut-muscle calves and perfectly toned thighs of a real cyclist. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out & getting to know each other, and eventually exchanged numbers to get together for a ride or hike sometime. I can’t keep up with him to save my life on a serious ride, but it will be fun to have someone around town to ride or head to the hills with for a good hike or the like. Making new friends is never a bad thing.

4. Boulder…is…so…beautiful. Riding around all of these trails and paths I’d never been on, heading up around Wonderland Lake and down in south Boulder by the Mesa Trail that I run on occasionally, discovering all of these cool little paths and places I want to return to, once again rejuvenated my love for this town. It’s expensive, it’s weird, it’s politically absurd and it’s full of crazy people, but man, do I love this place. What a fantastic day. What a beautiful ride. What an amazing part of the world I live in! I am so blessed!

5. Anytime Glacier sponsors an event, I need to go. Because that means I get Glacier at the event. Especially when it’s free!!!

I did have an awesome ride. I passed a lot of people and managed to maintain a good clip for the whole ride. Mike said something about riding at 23 miles an hour but I think he was either joking or we were downhilling at the time. Regardless, when I started, I was concerned, having gone out at a relatively fast pace, roughly equal to my commuting speed (which I believe hovers between 12 and 18 miles per hour) thinking I maybe overdid it at the start and would therefore have some trouble finishing i.e. come in quite slowly or would end up bonking in the middle and be unable to finish the ride at all. But maintaining a pretty good speed I actually did quite well for nineteen miles (or 21...). Since I don't generally do any lengthy rides it was nice to get out and know I am capable of riding 20 miles, within a relatively short timeframe, maintaining a pretty decent pace. I CANNOT become a cyclist, however. Too expensive, too many snobs and too much weird clothing to have to purchase. I remain fiercely devoted to my 22-lb. Bianchi Milano, the celeste-green "Cafe Racer" and (in my opinion) queen of cruisers everywhere.

So that’s all for now; my hamstrings and quads are tired and my bad knee hurts a bit, but overall an excellent bout of exercise, a good ride, a beautiful day, a new friend, and ice cream at the finish. Life doesn’t get much better than this!