In this article, I will lay out the foundation for why “More Riding Is Better Than Less.”
Just kidding, sounds like the beginning of a terribly boring piece, and if you’ve found this, I doubt you would disagree with the sentiment. So we’ll just jump straight to the how to make that a reality part.
If you’ve been following along, you might know that Amy and I spent some time living in Raleigh, NC, a city with a vibrant, amazing cycling culture. We moved to Winston-Salem on purpose and with purpose: to be closer to family and to bring the love-for-all-things-cycling along with us.
I published a blog more than four and half years ago that I simply called Benelux Cafe Social, and while it’s a stark reminder of how I’ve developed as a writer over the those years, it’s also a great piece to look back on. I started it off by saying, “I guess you could say that this type of ride is why I started this blog.” Though, I’m 100% sure I was exaggerating at the time just to make the blog sound good; I’m also 100% sure, in retrospect, that I hit the nail on the head.
I remember nights where there would be 100+ people on bikes; on mountain bikes, on road bikes, on cruisers, on dirt jumpers, on tandems, on comet, on cupid . . . you get the point. There would be people kitted out in spandex right beside people wearing jeans and a t-shirt. It was chaos and it was harmony. But when the ride was over, we all got a beer, and got to know each other. It made for some of the most memorable nights of my life, and that’s what we want to share with everyone here in the Camel City.
We knew it would take some time, and now it seems like we meet people on a daily basis who share the same vision as we do. Now is our time to get together and make it happen.
The way to do this is more riding, thus the name of this blog. Weekly rides to be specific. But we (Amy and I) can’t do it alone. We need other people to be leaders, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the person at the front of the pack. That means people who are going to show up as often as they can; people who will memorize the routes and lead people from the front, the middle, and a sweep; people to promote the rides; and people to have fun!
If you’re interested and share our passion for cycling culture, send me an email or fill out the form below. We’re going to start meeting on a regular basis to plan rides. In the meantime, keep the gears turning.