by Bettina Freese

It can be humiliating, degrading, and stressful, but somebody’s gotta ride in the back.

Pulling up the rear is a difficult task for the old ego, but it’s a place we’ve all been at some point, and sometimes return to, depending on how little we’ve been riding or with whom we’ve decided to ride. Besides, there will always be a faster rider.

I recently found myself at the back of the pack. It was evident from the first climb that those three weeks of once-a-week riding had caused a major slip from the riding circle. The view up the first fire road climb was of rear ends beyond a veil of dust. At first I pushed hard to keep up with the others, finding their warm-up pace equaled my max effort. This resulted in legs that exploded before they were properly warmed. By the time the singletrack came along, my coordination was completely shot due to exhaustion, just when I needed it most. I wrecked and bonked trying to keep up, which only kept me off the bike even longer.

When you find yourself struggling to keep up with your buddies, the worst thing to do is pull ahead of the stronger riders-especially on singletrack. Keeping a few folks behind may appease the ego as you stumble through rock gardens and eak through narrow sections where it’s impossible to be passed, but it’s not fair to the stronger riders. The worst place to start in front of stronger riders is on the descent. The climb is always hard, but it’s for a great cause: the downhill. This is the candy of the ride, the sweet stuff. Keeping the stronger riders at bay on the descent is sure to cause animosity, as you’ll be responsible for them coasting instead of riding. If someone wrecks, by all means, pass them until they catch you again. If you thought you were faster than that one guy, but here he is on your rear wheel, let him get by at the next safe spot. This is where it’s important to change the thought process. This is not a race. This is not an opportunity to prove oneself. It’s when I remind myself to breathe and take in the forest. After all, it’s being on my bike in the woods that I love most. Everybody has good and bad days. Good riding buddies won’t leave anyone behind. They’ll have a stretch, a snack, or hang out gabbing at the intersection until everyone’s together again.

Don’t let the ego make any decisions, or you’ll find yourself ditching back to the car, which will certainly irritate riding buddies. They will wait a long time and even ride back down what they just climbed to make sure you’re not injured.

I like to make fun of myself when I’m slow so that at least they’ll find me amusing: “You guys been napping a while?” I ask at the top of a climb. “Do these look like legs to you-cuz they feel like lead pipes.”

Strength, agility, and grace are the skills we acquire when riding bikes, and that refers to ability on the bike as well as relationships with other riders. Just know your limits, so that you don’t hurt yourself physically, or emotionally, and so that you remain friends with your riding buddies-and your bike.

Bettina Freese can be reached at lulafree@aol.com.