Riding Bikes With Girls

I first heard of this version of Tabor Tuesday, well overheard, at the Harvest Century finish line festival.  The Harvest Century is a pretty amazing ride, by the way.  A lady was enjoying her finish line feast and beer and telling her friends about her Tabor Tuesday ride.  I thought she was talking about the Tabor Tuesday ride some other friends do - complete with an early morning dance party -before heading off to work.

Instead, she was leading this ride as part of Ride Like A Girl, which is a terrific Portland club of lady riders.  Back in my days as event planner for Western Bikeworks, I'd taught a couple of flat clinics for the group, but this was my first time riding with them.

My friend Madi and I had been doing our own weekly rides, which we called "Mondays with Maria and Madi".  We're always a day late, but never a dollar short.  Madi and I did a few rides on our own, then joined the Tabor Tuesday rides two weeks in a row.  The leader is lovely and everyone is friendly.  The pace is relaxed and the distance is reasonable (30ish miles).  After the ride, we went over to Cartlandia for lunch.
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For our second Tabor Tuesday, I woke up early, early for me these days, and rode up through the cemetery.  I've always admired the "Wheeless" tombstone and finally stopped to photograph it.  At the top of the hill two riders, including the ride leader, awaited my arrival.  Shortly after, we intercepted Madi on her way up the hill.

I got a flat tire, which will be detailed in my blog post about all of the flat tires of 2018 (it's a doozy!).  After repairing it, we headed over to a Vietnamese place in Sellwood where we could sit on the patio.  

I had populated the next many Tuesdays on my calendar with Madi and Ride Like A Girl rides, but, alas, I've found gainful employment so will gladly be resuming my place in the Cat 6 rat race!