BearPear
Veteran
- Location
- God's Own County
So, I'm a fairly novice cyclist, married to a very keen (super-fit) bloke who loves to go out on shorter rides with me. I found a 23 mile circular route near home which I uploaded from a cycle club's website (via MMR). It was billed as a "beginner/returner" route, nothing too challenging.
A few miles in we hit a beastly hill and I had to dismount - and I have NEVER had to do that before. There were 3 killer climbs, one that Mr BP was familiar with that he said was 14%. We live in a hilly part of the country so I am not unfamiliar with hard work. Why would a club promote this route as a beginner choice? Is it designed to humiliate the slowest rider? Do club riders secretly snigger at the poor noobies, and work on other fiendish routes to trap them? Is there such a thing as a club that embraces beginners, especially ladies and improvers? (Please don't say that I'll improve with more riding, I know this! A killer climb does nothing to foster enthusiasm in less capable riders).
A few miles in we hit a beastly hill and I had to dismount - and I have NEVER had to do that before. There were 3 killer climbs, one that Mr BP was familiar with that he said was 14%. We live in a hilly part of the country so I am not unfamiliar with hard work. Why would a club promote this route as a beginner choice? Is it designed to humiliate the slowest rider? Do club riders secretly snigger at the poor noobies, and work on other fiendish routes to trap them? Is there such a thing as a club that embraces beginners, especially ladies and improvers? (Please don't say that I'll improve with more riding, I know this! A killer climb does nothing to foster enthusiasm in less capable riders).