desperately seeking riding buddies in PDX!

Hey there everyone! I am so happy that I found this forum. You ladies have some great discussion threads! :) okay, so here is a quick run down of who I am and what I'm looking for:
I'm a 37 year old female that up until two months ago, was sucking down a bottle of vino a night and watching re-runs of Andy Griffith. Fast forward... My brother gave me his bike, I got on and the rest is history (well, I have upgraded to a pretty sweet little bike and bought some spandex!) Anyway, my BF is not as enthusiastic about my new found hobby and neither are my best girlfriends. So basically, I'm looking for other "newbie" riders looking to find riding buddies and hopefully improve together! So far my longest ride has been 35 miles and it was great! Albeit my bum was a bit sore ;) typically I do 15 mile rides on the weekend. Some hill work and building up endurance. I would love to meet folks who would be up for this! There could also be bacon and wine involved! Thanks!

May

I saw the sticky about "personal safety". I hope I didn't creep anyone out with my search for a riding buddy. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

May

Did want to note that LA (where I am) has a lot of meetup groups for cyclists (including "new cyclist rides") and critical mass events. I would be super shocked if there weren't something related in portland.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by mayqueen

I saw the sticky about "personal safety". I hope I didn't creep anyone out with my search for a riding buddy. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

May

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I'd ride with you if I lived there. I have a hard time finding anyone to ride with too. I get someone interested enough and they buy a bike and then they never ride. I had a girlfriend and her husband all ready to gear up and start riding, and they bought the bikes, and came out here where I am and rode once, and I never have been able to get her to ride again.
I try to get everyone I'm close to, to go riding with me, including my son, and no one wants to ride. :confused::(

Thanks DDH and Aeiea! I have looked and done some of the "organized rides". they have been great, dont get me wrong, but i was really looking for a small group of riders to improve with. More like 2 to 4 people, more personal and close knit. It sucks that you two are not in Oregon. Ive even offered to cater lunch at my house after rides, who can turn that down?? :) Thanks again and i hope i can get some responses.

may

I'd be interested, but it's a little hard for me to get out alone on the weekends.
I'll PM you though.

ETA: I'm directionally challenged.

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Originally Posted by DDH

I'd ride with you if I lived there. I have a hard time finding anyone to ride with too. I get someone interested enough and they buy a bike and then they never ride. I had a girlfriend and her husband all ready to gear up and start riding, and they bought the bikes, and came out here where I am and rode once, and I never have been able to get her to ride again.
I try to get everyone I'm close to, to go riding with me, including my son, and no one wants to ride. :confused::(

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Hey! Next time take them out on an EASY ride the first time out. Find one that's fast flats with no big hills. Then they will be hooked!

May, finding cycling buddies is difficult. There needs to be compatibility. Average speed and distance are the two most important components of compatibility, with the assumption that the cyclists are riding the same type of bikes. Even when you get compatibility with respect to speed, distance and fitness level, then you may have to put up with buddies who possess odd personal behaviors and mannerisms. Then there is the time scheduling component also.

Or you can bike by yourself.

Or you can continue to attend rides with the bike club in Portland and hope to meet compatible cycling buddies eventually.

Or -- you can go to http://www.mapmyride.com, do a search for cyclists in your area, and see if any of them might be compatible with you. Look for a cyclist with an open profile and attention to their training log, and if you see compatibility, you can contact the cyclist through the site.

Here is what my public profile looks like on Map:

http://www.mapmyride.com/user_profile?u=3219491111

Don't wait around expecting to find someone to bike with you. Get on your bike and go. Use Map to find routes or map your own routes.

Good luck,

Darcy

Thanks darcy! I will definitely take a peek at that site. I do go out and ride by myself, about 4 times a week. I just thought it would be good to mix it up to improve my riding. I've actually "followed" some fast groups to see if I could keep up with them. Needless to say, after a few confused looks back my way, I decided to drop off. :) thanks for the advice though, never thought about the "compatibility" aspect of it. Good point to keep in mind.

I live in PDX - I can ride with you :) Do you have an interest in racing? That is my forte. But last fall was when I first started seriously riding and building my rides from 20 miles to 30, now I ride long distances easy. It's all about your body adapting to greater stresses. Just takes time and motivation! Good for you looking for a riding buddy :) There is a meet-the-teams ride next Sat. 9/12 9a usually goes 35 miles, but if you're not into racing that's ok. If you'd like to ride with me, let me know when and what kind of ride you'd like to do :D
Cheers,
Sara

Hi sara, thanks for the reply. Right now I am gathering more info about my own personal riding style and goals. I don't know much about racing, but would love to learn more about it. Can you PM me. I tried to send you an email but it did give me that option. Btw, have you ridden the hood river harvest ride before? If so, how was it? Thanks!

May