Last night I rode on the Ktown Forge and Gorge ride. There were about 12 riders, mostly on fixed gear bikes ("fixies"), that met up and rode close to 20 miles. We went around Ktown, Silver Lake, East L.A., and other surrounding areas. The gang went for some all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ buffet afterwards. I left early and didn't eat this time, although I was really tempted to. Korean BBQ is so delicious. These rides are kinda late for me since I have to wake up early in the morning for work. Also, I'm trying to improve my diet and nutrition for my triathlon training. I can't be gorging on all you can eat BBQ buffet after 10:00 at night anymore.
The ride itself was not a beginner friendly ride. The riders themselves were a nice group of guys. It's just that some people get dropped, if they can't keep up with the lead group. It's not as fast as the Wolf Pack, but definitely faster than most Midnight Ridazz rides. I hope the guys that got dropped knew where we were supposed to meet up afterwards. Otherwise, they will feel abandoned.
It's a bit dangerous since these Midnight Ridazz blow through lights many times, and the whole group has to get through the red lights to catch up.
I felt I had an unfair advantage when I was riding since I had my time-trial/triathlon Motobecane Nemesis bike. The other guys had fixed gear bikes so they had to keep pedaling. They can't coast, and they only have one gear. Fixed gear bikes seem to be all the rage right now for some reason. I'm thinking about getting one too. A lot of the guys have track bikes made for riding in velodromes. They don't have brakes. You have to use your legs to slow down while pedaling. That can get really scary and dangerous going downhill. They're good for training your legs. Lance Armstrong also rides them sometimes to train. Since you can't coast, you're constantly pedaling. The only thing is that they're killer on your knees.
I need to put more miles on my legs in order to train. I also need to avenge myself in the superfast Montrose Peloton, a pack of about 200 pro level road racers.
It's good to ride in groups. I feel safer than riding by myself at night. Since we have multiple riders, drivers seem to be more careful. It's safer to ride in a pack at night except for when they blow through red lights.
4 comments:
Pack riding sounds like fun, but I would never run the red light. Too scary.
Abbagirl,
It's fun pack riding. You're right about it being dangerous going through red lights though.
Sounds exciting! That triathlon is going to be a breeze for you by the time it comes around.
Portia,
I hope I can do well in the triathlon. I know I still have a lot more training to do after riding with real racers though. I want to ride at their level or at least keep up with them before I enter a race.
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