Well, I had a great ride at the BBC last Sunday. Unfortunately, when I called the day before to make sure that the shop had the road bike that I'd reserved in advance... they had forgotten and rented the bike to another rider. I ended up with an enormous beach cruiser from Bike Nation for two reasons: no bikes in my size that were within close enough proximity to the ride (BN brought a bunch of bikes to the starting line) and it was 3pm on Saturday when I called to say that I was enroute to pick up the rental bike. No chance to really make too many other plans, and I felt lucky that BN would have bikes there.

So, 32 miles on a beach cruiser that was definitely too big for me... at least my butt didn't hurt afterwards! My arms and shoulders were sore from trying to control the bike, but it was minor. What a beautiful ride! It seemed to be well-organized, everyone was very friendly, and my fear about accidentally taking out a group of other riders was unfounded. This was my first organized ride and it was a good experience that has led me to look for other rides and races closer to home!