Weekend in Boulder, CO

This past weekend I had the chance to spend some time in Boulder, CO doing some advertising for races and meet some potential sponsors. I also have a great friend who's lived in Boulder a few years so it was great to see him as well. I of course took my bike to get in some miles.

I set out for my 4 hour training ride about 9 am thinking I'd see a few riders out and about. Turns out there were groups of 30-50 cyclists at just about every coffee shop in town meeting for a ride. Needless to say there was no shortage of folks to ride with.

I decided to take a little visual survey of the groups. There was one group of guys, mostly older dudes on titanium bikes. The adage of "if your bike is grey chances are your hair is too" proved true with that group. There was also a big club meeting for their ride in their brand new matching kits. This looked like a good group with a mix of men and women, old and young. I also saw a group of what looked like mostly local pros and elite riders.

I actually connected with a couple different groups out on the road and got to meet some fantastic people. As long as you can keep up, cyclists seem to be an accepting group. Of course there's some A-holes, but out on this particular day I felt right at home and they were glad to have one more tag along.

What surprised me the most was the shear number of cyclists. I'm sure the lack of snow and the 60 degree forecast had something to do with it, but there were literally hundreds of riders out that day. Old friends chatting, new friendships being made and conversations ranging from the latest carbon wheelset to potty training kids. It was a spectacle I was grateful to be a part of.

I had the chance to chat up the bike races I promote and get to know some interesting characters. There are many reasons to love cladding yourself in spandex and shaving your legs but one of the best reasons for doing so is all of the awesome people involved. My weekend in Boulder proved that no matter where you're at, some tight clothes and a bike are all you need to make some new friends.