Fun comes up a lot lately with regard to riding.  There are two upcoming events that have “fun” in their name: The Plano Fun Ride and the Frisco Family Fun Ride.  The Frisco Family Fun ride is first on July 24th from 8 am to 10 pm and is targeted toward families with young kids.  The event is a half mile loop with festival activities and exhibits. The Plano Fun Ride on August 7th,  benefits the Relief Nursery of Collin County and is a traditional bike ride with routes from 6 miles to 62 miles.  Both will be fun events.

It is very easy to over-engineer a bike ride.  The local club has a bazillion rides and a sign-in process and leaders and sweepers.    They are obsessive about signals and pace.  Many riders go through their personal obsessions regarding what they wear and how their bike is maintained.  It’s “Fred” to do otherwise.  All of this can also be less fun.

The typical club or fitness rider, must get on a certain type of bike with a certain type of jersey, shorts, helmet, socks, shoes, headband, sunglasses and gloves.  The tires must be pumped to 110 lbs of pressure, the ride must be 50 miles long and average 18 mph.

When was the last time you just hopped on a bike early in the morning and just went for a ride without caring how far or how fast?  Maybe hooked up with a friend or two without a predefined route.  Now that is fun.  You sprint to a sign 100 yards away, see who can hold a track stand the longest.  Somewhere along the way you turn down a road just to see what is there.

I like group riding and organization is necessary for this to be successful on a weekly basis.  We need rules and structure to be safe.  As individuals, we need to allow ourselves to have freedom and not let the rules and structure box us out of having fun.  Break the mold once in a while and go on a ride that doesn’t push yourself to the max.  Socialize and have fun while you ride.

Participate in the Frisco Family Fun Ride on July 24th at Frisco Square or the Plano Fun Ride on August 7th at Jasper High School and have fun!