Bike Bonding


Let's get this clear, this topic has nothing to do with me going out to my man cave, gloving up and lovingly applying generous amounts of lubricant to my chain, followed by a vigorous rubbing of the chain with a rag to remove it and the built up road grime followed by a leaner coating of lube and another wipe.  That's called maintenance and should be done at least every 100 to 150kms to keep your drive train clean and to maximise the life of my chain.

One of the great things I like about riding is .... the whole bike community which is instantly joinable when you find yourself at the lights admiring someone else's ride, complementing them on their steed or engaging in small talk of where they're riding from and to.  It's one of the few modes of transport where it's completely acceptable to start a conversation with a complete stranger and there's a strong chance they'll  reciprocate. 

In my teens the presence of a road bike at our camp site drew a veteran cyclist over who invited me out for a ride the next day.  160kms we rode over some seriously hilly terrain. Hands red raw for lack of cycling gloves and I could barely sit down afterwards for obvious reasons.  Two days later he had me riding up a mountain and flying down.  The bike bug had bitten thanks to this insane initiation.    It's an experience I'll treasure forever. 

 
Tonight riding home I got talking to a guy whose bike had an awesome set of cranks (it's a bike fetish thing I know) and my first words were "awesome cranks".  The compliment was gladly received and I got the full story.  It turns out that we work across the road from each other and have similar interests.  In between dodging cars, trucks and trams we talked for the best part of 30 minutes about cycling, triathlon and running before splitting.  One of the great by-products of bike bonding is taking the monotony out of the solo ride and time passes faster than ever and chances are you're riding faster to keep up or you've just forgotten how tired you are.

Cycling is good like that, you are an unofficial member of a club you did not have to join and any can talk to anyone.  Without having to formally join a group what other opportunities present themselves to freely engage with others? 

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