I did my first organized ride of the year yesterday. It is, by my standard, a rather hilly ride. I've been sweating this ride since I bought my new bike last fall with it's compact double. If I couldn't ride these hills, then I had made a very expensive mistake! Well I didn't make a mistake because I rode every hill with NO stopping. Well, except the hill I made a 5 mile detour to avoid. I adopted a new strategy for the hills. Once I was in my easy gear I pedaled along slooow, steady, breathed deeply and stayed relaxed. It was an incredible moment when I topped the first hill and could still breath. The worst hill for me comes at the end of a lovely long stretch with the wind at your back, where I was going 25 - 30mph with minimal effort, ahhhhh! But then this nasty short but STEEP hill and it's on a loop, so you have to do it twice. Anyway, when I topped it for the second time I actually could talk to the fellow next to me. Thats never happen before!

So I had a great ride. The weather was nice, food stops were well stocked and the wind was doable. My average speed was up 1.75 miles from last years ride which made me very happy. It's always nice to have verification of improvment.

But . . . here's my rant . . . every hill I climbed, every rest I took and even when I was just pedaling along, I was passed by riders who felt the need to check on my health and well being. Yes, I'm fat and I'm slow but I'm not feeble. I'm sure these expressions were kindly given, but come on, I'm riding the same 50 miles they are just a little slower. I even had one gal STOP to ask if I needed help when I pulled over to blow my nose! This happen on last years ride too. Yes I am a little sensitive about being overweight. But I really hate to be catagorized as a struggling fat person when I'm having a wonder ride/day. So I'm wondering, those of you who are lean, fit and fly along the route. When you pass a slow fat person why do you feel the need to say anything more than "Hi, nice day for a ride"? bikerHen