New Utah Cyclist

[sulis]

Hi
I am completely new to the world of cycling. I would very much like to get involved with a group for rides and such since I have no idea what I am doing. Does anyone know of any newbie friendly road cyclist groups in the Salt Lake/Sandy area?
Thanks

[SadieKate]

I don't know of any groups, but I visit SLC a lot. It is full of great friendly bike shops and lots of roadies. Just drop into a few (shops that is) and ask. The guys at Spin Cycle took great pride in having lots of women's clothing. The folks at Fisher's and Canyon were terrific also.

Welcome to the group!

[CorsairMac]

howdy and welcome! Also try your state/city website (ok..that was confusing but for me its nmcycling.org). They should list all the clubs in your area and the ride types. Also, call several of your LBS - like Sadie said, they usually know of local clubs but I found my LBS' each knew a "different" group so I called several to try and get a complete picture. Good Luck and have fun!

[ljkl]

Welcome to the road. Try Bonneville Bicycle Touring Club (BBTC). www.bbtc.net
-lj

[snapdragen]

And Bonneville has their own women's only ride - Little Red Riding Hood. Someday I want to go to Utah and ride it.

Originally posted by ljkl
Welcome to the road. Try Bonneville Bicycle Touring Club (BBTC). www.bbtc.net
-lj

[SadieKate]

I forgot about that ride! Every year, we go to SLC to do spring cleaning, yard chores, etc. for my 95 yr old MIL. And every year, we cruise the bike shops and talk about the rides that would be fun to do.

OK, this year we may have to drive. We're always out there about that time any way. Just have to talk hubby into making the 160 mile round trip from MIL's house. This would be right after 6 days of mtbiking in Bend, so I should be in shape and a little bit prepared for the altitude.

Thanks for the tip!

[CorsairMac]

drink drink drink - the best thing you can do if you're going up in altitude is drink starting several days before you get there and keep drinking while you're there until you acclimate.

Signed:
Corsair-livesat6500'-Mac

[SadieKate]

I know, I know I've mtbiked from Telluride to Moab. When I got home I didn't know what to do with all the extra time I had once I had to stop peeing every 30 mins.

Then, there was the time I went on a full moon snowshoe hike at Keystone. Try bearing your fanny at 10 pm, in the winter, on a ridgeline at over 12,000 feet.

Have water, will travel!

PS - Have I mentioned that I was born in Abby-Q? Haven't been there in years. I suspect its changed in 40+ years.

[CorsairMac]

I've seen pixs of Abq from 40 yrs ago...if someone hadn't told me I was looking at Abq, I would've never known it. It was soo small...and bare! LOL Its now the #5 fastest growing city in the US or something like that. And I can NOT imagine baring my behind in the snow at 12,000. Course - I would much prefer to not even Be in the snow! :-D

[volvogal]

Hi, Volvogal here; I'm new to the board and sorta new to cycling too. I've been mountain biking for years with my husband and three sons, but have been the reluctant cog in the wheel so to speak. I just went along to be a congenial part of the family.

Then, earlier this spring, we got a brochure from the Bonneville Cycling club announcing the "Little Red Riding Hood" ride. I looked at it and decided right there that I wanted to do that ride. Once that decision was made, my husband thought it would be better if I rode the metric century on a road bike, so he commenced to sell my mountain bike and set me up with a pretty sweet Orbea Mitis Dama ladies bike. At age 45 I've discovered I'm a cyclist! A roadie no less! I love it!!!!

I participated in the Little Red Riding Hood ride on Saturday and it was one of those great accomplishments everyone should strive for at least once in their lives. It was simply exhilerating! Previous years, they've had at most, 400 women riders participate, but this year there were over 900 women strong, pedaling in the fight against breast cancer. I was honored to wear a friend's mother's breast cancer pin, who died of this horrific disease.

I am sorry for busting in and redirecting this thread. I'm still feeling my way around the board and figuring things out here. I just read the comments about the ride and wanted to say it was great, and that's from a novice's perspective!

I have to say that the Bonneville Cycling Club does a fantastic job promoting cycling as a Utah sport. They also do the Ulcer century ride around Utah Lake in August and I'm going to do that one too, with my family.

Happy riding in Utah!

[SadieKate]

Did we see you there? See my post: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=2944

Wondering where the other TE gals were and welcome to the Forum! There's a thread labeled "Getting to Know You" that you should read, complete, etc. We want to know more about you!

[ljkl]

congrats on the ride. i did the metric also....and am a member of bbtc. the jerseys and tee shirts were nice too. the weather was perfect for riding and you can't beat the scenery in cache valley! i'll be back up there for the ms 150 on 6/25-26.