Baby Monkeh's Journal, 11 Feb 21

Wow! Great work Monkeh! 🎉🌟 Keep it up 🚴🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️  

Good job. Is this a new activity for you or have you been doing it for a while.? 

Hi Kenna, I got the bike in October 2020 and have been using it since then, doing some 7lm rides and randomly doing like 10km, then 11km, then 12. I'd do more of it weren't for the heat. Already my legs are more defined and STRONG!! and it's so much fun, I feel like a kid again. I did a 10km ride in October and I wasn't strong enough, i had to get off and walk randomly, between bits on the bike m but now 12km is easy and I'm raring to go for longer! 

When the weather improves you will really enjoy that bike again. Let us know how you are progressing. Check your area out and see if there are any century or half century rides coming up in the spring.. I bet you can be ready for a half century for sure.. 

Hi Kenna, never heard of that before, is it 50 /100km rides?? Sounds amazing. I'd love to have a riding group too, to start keeping a competitive pace.. but don't know anyone in my area doing or wanting to do it 

Baby Monkeh— you’re right 50/100 miles. I used to belong to a bike club. My limit was the half century. I have done several through the wine country in central/ Northern California and following the coastal route between Anaheim, CA and San Diego. There is also a great springtime event out in the Palm Springs area.. lots of fun. Our group always made these several day events with hiking and eating as part of it. The thing is, if you are going to do one of these, you need to really know how to deal with the most common breakdown issues. We had a support van with the tools and a person who was a master at keeping the bikes on the road. 

Oh yes. Check the internet for a Sierra Club group or just Google bike clubs and your zip code. You may be surprised. 

There is no charge to belong to Sierra club or most of the bike clubs that I know of. If you are going to participate in the out of town or overnight trips there is, of course cost involved in that. To just meet up with the group on any given day to ride there is no cost involved. You can go online and Google Sierra Club and your zip code and see what shows up. 

I see you’re somewhere near Hampton East. There’s a cycle shop at 353 Hampton st. Hampton. If you drop in there and chat to them, they will probably be able to tell you all about local groups and clubs, from social paddlers to serious road and velodrome racing. 

There’s also one at 877a Nepean Hwy, Bentleigh, ‘Urban Pedaler’, sounds even more promising.