Rides growing in popularity, size and speed.

I get email inquiries all the time asking what is a Hudson Velo Club group ride like?  That answer has been changing over time.  It always starts with the fact that all are welcome.  We are a friendly group.  We have gotten faster over the years (More than 7 years of riding ).  We will not intentionally drop anyone and provide cue sheets (when this author prints them for those primitive souls like me who do not yet have GPS). We have saved peoples lives and changed others.  We have created some true and lasting friendships that started with a biking partner and evolved into wives trips to Paris and ski trips to Utah.

The reality is that our riders are more and more fit and the barrier to entry is higher for those beginning to road bike or those returning after a long lay off.  There are a lot of fancy carbon bikes, which have tended to break when going through the dreaded and never to be seen again Sand Run Parkway ford (water crossing). None the less, all are welcome.  Our ride group on this past Sunday was 20 riders with two tandems and one young guy on a cross bike.  They all rode well and the group accordianed around the  54 mile loop course with plenty of hills thrown in.  A friend moving back to Hudson from Indiana joined us as well after riding 30 miles in the valley as a warm up.  She was on her husband's bike and still did great.  The only thing that held her up was going up the pimple on Riverview (a sharp, short climb) which caused her to get off and walk.  This was only due to gearing and not her fitness because she rocked the balance of the ride.  She is getting ready for her first Ironman and looks to be on pace to achieve that bucket list item.

Oh, the other thing is that our average ride distance has climbed to be well over 40 miles for most rides on the weekend.  Our departure time has shifted from the traditional 7:05 a.m.  depicted on the clock tower to a more sedate 8:05 a.m. from Caribou in downtown Hudson.  That will also be changing to Peets in short order.  We may in fact need a B group but no one is formally willing to declare themselves that B rider and lead it.  That is all OK. We have what appears to be a fun tradition forming of a 6 p.m. Wednesday ride from North End which ends with   discount beers and Kobe burgers.  How do you beat that?  Spread the word, get on your bike and come ride with Hudson Velo Club.  Oh and buy some of our matching spandex which is all available on this website.