It is only 20 weeks until the 2009 Oh Melo Velo rides start. As many of you know, the Slow Spokes started riding with OMV in the spring of 2006. Over the past three years, the OMV ride has grown from 9 riders in February of 2005 to upwards of 50 riders in 2008. Many of the riders who started out riding with the Slow Spokes are now comfortably riding at paces in excess of 16 mph. No one could have imagined the phenomenal growth of the group or the success of the individual riders. With the continued growth, though, comes a need to reflect on the mission and future of The Slow Spokes.
The Wednesday OMV rides have become so large, that they are no longer conducive to beginning riders and David, one of the co-founders of OMV, feels the group has gotten so large that it presents safety issues. You will recall we delayed the start time a few minutes for the slower group to reduce the number of riders leaving at the same time, but as the group continues to grow, there are still concerns that this might not be the best ride for inexperienced riders. The OMV rides will continue as they always have, and everyone is welcome to participate in those rides; however, beginning with the 2009 season, the Slow Spokes will no longer provide a sweeper for those rides. Instead, the Slow Spokes are adding a Thursday ride from MacGregor Village aimed specifically at the needs of beginning riders. In some ways, the Thursday SS rides will be similar to the OMV rides, but there are a few major distinctions.
The similarities are that the rides will begin promptly at 6:00PM, and the routes will be out and back routes with a turn-around time that is half way between 6:00 and sunset.
The distinctions are:
- Instead of a different route each week, we have selected a few routes that are more suitable to beginners, and we will use each route several times over the course of the season
- Instead of riders riding at their pace, the Thursday rides will be no-drop group rides. Depending on the number of riders, there might be more than one group, but each group will ride together at a pace that the slowest rider in the group can maintain. On these rides, “no-drop” does not mean waiting at turns. The group will stay together for the entire ride.
- Instead of being an individual time trial ride, the focus of the ride will be to teach group riding etiquette and techniques.
To get back to the original mission of The Slow Spokes, the Thursday ride will provide an opportunity for new or slower riders to ride in a controlled group setting. Experienced riders will lead the group and give instruction and encouragement to new riders. We will teach new riders how to ride in a pace line and will use the power of the group to get the slowest riders to go as far as they can within the allotted time. Slow Spoke riders who want to push their pace and see how fast they can ride can still participate in the Wednesday OMV rides. Those who want to experience a group ride can join the new Thursday rides.
It is great that the group has grown from just a few to so many. A special thank you to all of those that swept the OMV rides this year and mentored the new riders who joined us in 2008. We will need leaders for the Thursday night rides in 2009 and hope that many of you will volunteer to assist with this new format.
10-15-2008, 07:41 PM
New Slow Spokes Rides For 2009
Schedule for 2009?
