How many of you have met/ridden with other forum members you didn't already know?

I thought it might be an interesting question to find out how small the world is, even though we're spread all over the place geographically. Have you ever actually met and ridden with people you've met on this forum and if so, when and tell us about it.


I'm a newbie here, but on Day 1, I realized that, even though we are from completely different cities, I had just done the same ride as zoom-zoom - the JDRF Ride to Cure in Lake Tahoe. We didn't actually meet in person that weekend, but I definitely saw her group around the whole weekend (the JDRF riders were a small subset - 135 or so - of the much larger Tour De Tahoe). I thought that was pretty cool to make that connection and I think we both could agree that it was an amazing experience - not just the ride, but the whole weekend vibe. I'm sure we'll meet in person sometime in the future because I intend to be riding in JDRF rides for a long time to come. Gotta love serendipity at work.

I have met and ridden with at least 10-15 TE members. Well, I take that back, a couple I have met, but no rides. I have regularly ridden with 2 people from the forum, although one I no longer see.
I really enjoy having the connections with cyclists all over; I've met a few and some have helped with trip planning for travel.

I haven't ridden with anyone, but I've met three TE'rs offline. Then, like you, there were twice when it turned out I was in the same place/same event with someone and didn't realize it until after the fact.

Considering that we're what, four members or so in Norway? and two of them live 7 hours away, I feel quite privileged to have met two of them! Duck on Wheels I met once when she was in Oslo for a meeting, Trigress I met briefly here at home, she inherited some gear from me or something. And apparently her dh spotted me on my regular commute one day :-) Haven't ridden with anyone.

I've ridden with 3 TE members, and met several more that I've not had a chance to ride with.

No, I wish I had thought to post an idea about a meet up place for those of us who just were in WA at the Cycle the Wave, that would have been fun.

I've ridden with one.
Catrin--one day, we will make this work out! :D

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Originally Posted by Owlie

I've ridden with one.
Catrin--one day, we will make this work out! :D

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One of these days :)

I recounted, I've ridden with 4 TE members, and met 2 that I've not ridden with (yet)

There quite a few of us in NorCal, some have moved (boohoo) and we use to get together quite often to ride. We all met here on TE.

In 2010 I had to chance to hook up with several TE'ers in the DC area for lunch. That was nice.

I got to watch SheFly and her DH race one year in Maine and then we had a great lunch.

This past summer Crankin and I managed to hook up for a yummy breakfast.

Definite food theme. :p

Veronica

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Originally Posted by Amira

I'm a newbie here, but on Day 1, I realized that, even though we are from completely different cities, I had just done the same ride as zoom-zoom - the JDRF Ride to Cure in Lake Tahoe. We didn't actually meet in person that weekend, but I definitely saw her group around the whole weekend (the JDRF riders were a small subset - 135 or so - of the much larger Tour De Tahoe). I thought that was pretty cool to make that connection and I think we both could agree that it was an amazing experience - not just the ride, but the whole weekend vibe. I'm sure we'll meet in person sometime in the future because I intend to be riding in JDRF rides for a long time to come. Gotta love serendipity at work.

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It totally KILLS me that we were just yards away from one-another for much of the weekend and didn't even make the TE connection...d'oh! :p

I've ridden with limewave several times. We first met during a women's road ride a couple of Summers ago. Somehow we made the realization that we knew one-another from TE. Now we've done some mountain biking together, too. She's also done mtn bike training and racing with my DH (and they have pretty much identical levels of ability).

Kacie and I met here on TE and we just did RAAM together after meeting only twice in real life! :) (Thanks again, Kacie!!!!!)

I asked this question a few years ago but didn't add on "ride together", on this forum. Many interesting answers: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...eet+te+members

My response on TE a few years ago:

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Let's see --have met only 6 (Vancouver & Seattle). Will meet #7 soon! (Atlanta, Georgia)
When I joined really had no expectation to meet anyone in person. It was more to be part of a female-centred cycling internet discussion group.

I have participated in previous bike forums elsewhere, where I met with 3, each woman in different situations/places. They were from: Toronto, Netherlands and New Mexico. Netherlands woman was doing a worldwide bike ride and was an esperanto enthusiast.

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But since then, I haven't met anyone else through TE forums.

This thread made me think about some of the TE members who I have met and ridden with, who no longer post. In 2005-2007 I led a Labor Day ride. One year there were like 10 people! I remember a lunch on a cold late fall day at the Friutlands in Harvard... someone gave me a pair of mountain bike shoes, free! I wonder how Massbike Babe is doing?
I've eaten breakfast with Veronica and her DH, met Mimi and Salsa for lunch in Seattle, seen SheFly and Wavedancer do a cross race, done a 50 mile hilly ride from Great Barrington to Chatham, NY to meet Bleecker St (Lisa, where are you???), and then there was that field trip to the Arcadian Shop for the Ibex sale... where my DH spent more on wool than 3 women combined. I've met SheFly for many cups of coffee, and of course, Hirakukibou, whom I pretty much ride with once a week.
It does seem amazing. Some of my friends from the real world always question that I am meeting people that I know "from the Internet." I always tell them that so far, I haven't met any deranged cyclists.

The key thing is to meet in a safe public place.
My partner has also met some TE members (mimi, salsa, NByNW, Grog, skihill). We have also met some of their hubbies.

And keep it simple: love for cycling and doing some cycling.

I met DH "from the Internet." Now, this was in the early '90s and things were way different then. Plus he was a sysop, which gave an extra level of security. Honestly, the old Compuserve was more like TE, though now with Facebook things have sort of come back around again - but some of the BBSs and listservs back in the day, yeah, you kinda did have to be wary of the axe murderers. ;)

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Some of my friends from the real world always question that I am meeting people that I know "from the Internet." I always tell them that so far, I haven't met any deranged cyclists.

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Yea, I figured if someone was really creepy, I would just have to ride fast, away from them.
But, some TEers have been to my house, actually this house and my old house, and so far, no robberies :).

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Some of my friends from the real world always question that I am meeting people that I know "from the Internet." I always tell them that so far, I haven't met any deranged cyclists.

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Ah, mine ask that too! I actively participate on another fitness/food forum and I've really gotten to know a group of women really well from it. We always refer to ourselves as 'friends who live in our computers.' Even though we are scattered all over the place (most in US, but from Cali to New England, one is @ The Hague). Several of them have met (a few from NE went to Boston to watch one do the Boston Marathon this year). The cyclists are talking about meeting at some ride next year. I think it's really cool that people can form real friendships with people they would have otherwise never ever met.

And, my college roommate met her hubbie on the 'internets' - way back in the early days of online dating.

I have! I was even invited to Christmas by one very awesome TE member :) I've tried to get a bigger group of the Denver-area folks together but I don't have a road bike and I guess not too many of us mountain bike. Then again, I haven't done that much riding this summer, since I vowed to stay out of the hospital until after my marathon :)

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Originally Posted by jessmarimba

I have! I was even invited to Christmas by one very awesome TE member :) I've tried to get a bigger group of the Denver-area folks together but I don't have a road bike and I guess not too many of us mountain bike. Then again, I haven't done that much riding this summer, since I vowed to stay out of the hospital until after my marathon :)

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Oh, my sister used to live in the Denver area and would have loved that. She's not there any more, but they do spend a good part of the summer in Vail, so maybe next summer.......

I've met and ridden with quite a few TE'rs. First when I lived in NC and even more now that I'm in the PNW. I've even met other TE people when I've traveled (like to MA) even though there was not opportunity to bike with those lovely ladies. Honestly, a large % of the people I'm friends with locally I met through Susan, so had it not been for TE, I'd have a much smaller circle of friends even in real life.

I also have friends all over the country that I know in real life from other internet boards as well. And in some cases, the people from those boards have crossed over with people I knew/met in real life avenues (like when I ran into a board friend at my company or when a previous employee of mine identified herself to me on the board when she recognized a story I shared!). The internet has quite literally 'shrunk' an already small world!

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

I also have friends all over the country that I know in real life from other internet boards as well. And in some cases, the people from those boards have crossed over with people I knew/met in real life avenues (like when I ran into a board friend at my company or when a previous employee of mine identified herself to me on the board when she recognized a story I shared!). The internet has quite literally 'shrunk' an already small world!

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We were just talking about all the weird "how the heck do YOU know THEM?!" things we've run into by virtue of FB. 6 degrees is a joke!

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

We were just talking about all the weird "how the heck do YOU know THEM?!" things we've run into by virtue of FB. 6 degrees is a joke!

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No kidding!

I actually found out that my best friend from 2nd grade (whom I got back in contact with through a guy I work with), is friends with my college boyfriend. They work at the same school and I found that out because of FB. I don't think we ever would have realized that connection in any other way!

Yes, I have seen some weird possible connections on FB. All from my older son's 1st grade class in AZ, because I am friends with the kids of my friend there. Those kids went to a different elementary school than my son, but they all became (real) friends in middle school and high school. It's weird that the same group of kids he was friends with at age 7 became very close friends of my close friend's kids when they were teens. I also have seen some names I haven't thought of in years, as I am friends with a few people from the high school I went to here in MA, before I moved. I didn't graduate from this school, and some of those connections go back to my own preschool days. I haven't connected with any of them, though.

I have met 5 (Dogmama, BadgerCat, Desert Tortoise, Owlie & 1 other), ridden with the first 3, and waved at one more riding in El Tour de Tucson....(itself).

Plus Madei ;)

I rode with Alex and caught up with Kacie and her hubby both when Kacie and Alex's husband were doing the St. George Ironman. Now that it is 70.3, it makes me even more happy for them that they made it through the course as a full IM. I would love to meet more TE people. Probably more have driven through town on the way to Vegas or over to Moab unless you came from the Colorado side.

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Originally Posted by azfiddle

I have met 5 (Dogmama, BadgerCat, Desert Tortoise, Owlie & 1 other), ridden with the first 3, and waved at one more riding in El Tour de Tucson....(itself).

Plus Madei ;)

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LOL azfiddle....maybe I was the 1 other? We met once and rode together.

I've gone to gatherings from another bike site back in the late 90's, mountain biking. It was fun and no there was not an ax murder among us. From that website one of the ladies I camped with came out from the East coast and stayed here in Tucson with me at my son's and another cyclist friend who came from CA with me to do El Tour. I think that was '01. It's all fun!

~Kate

I think it would be cool to have a TE members only jersey that you could only buy if you actually signed up for an account. Maybe set a limit that you have to have posted 20 times (random number) prior to purchasing or be approved by the administrators to keep it legit. Then when you are riding you might see someone else with the same jersey and make a new friend. I have no idea how many, if any, members I have ridden by (or most likely behind) We could have a design contest and vote on the one we like the best which would be kinda fun. I've seen some hysterical slogans posted here of late.

I haven't ridden with any te gals, but I've run into Bikerhen on the Centennial Trail here. I have met and done activities with folks from some of the other boards I hang out on (mtbr/skidiva). Anyone remember usenet? One of my very best friends I met on alt.sewing; and we used to have an annual Idaho bike gathering off of alt.mountainbike.