Last post was about how I've been able to connect with a fun community through rugby. This post is about how I've been able to do the same with cycling...In the summer after graduating from Carnegie Mellon, before returning to PGH for one last year to work/take classes, I bought a bike. This was a big investment for me. The last time I bought something that big for myself was the computer I'd bought in the fall of my junior year. But after a summer of being in Wyoming for 6 weeks communing with nature, I thought it was high time to start exploring more alternative methods of transportation. I went everywhere on that thing - to school, to the grocery store, to church, to go shopping, to the boathouse, and just about any other place you could think of. But I'd never done long-distance cycling - only commuting through traffic - until I came to Doha.
At first I was timid. My bike is a steel frame and doesn't have the most top-of-the-line parts. But I make it go fast. I still wasn't sure if I could keep up with the group of cyclist who were significantly more experienced and serious about road-riding. I didn't even know what a paceline was, much less keep from crashing into the person in front of me if I was to be only a foot off their wheel. I was invited to come riding with a few faculty and staff from CMUQ and quickly began my love affair with distance cycling. What started as a group of 2 or 3 has now grown to a d-list as large at 10 or 12, with at least 4 or 5 of us out riding on a regular basis - once on Friday, once on Saturday. This is a regular weekend ritual for me now. Not only do I love the riding, but I also love being able to ride with a big group of people and enjoy the camaraderie of a shared love of the sport and experience of pushing ourselves physically.
To top it all off, this last week was the Tour of Qatar. It sounds kind of silly when you think about it, but the competitors in this race are the same guys that race in the Tour de France. It's a 6-stage race with each stage being a different loop around the country. Stage 1 was a time trial on the Corniche. Stage 3 finished at Qatar Foundation and a bunch of the people I ride with got to see the blood-pumping sprint (picture above). Stage 6 was a short loop to the South starting at the Corniche and also ending at the Corniche during a community even t sponsored by ROTA called "Wheels n' Heels." After the finish there was a community ride so I decided to bring my bike and brought one for my dad as well. Little did I know that we'd get to ride right along side the cyclist on the Tour!!! So here I was on my dinky little road bike with street clothes on next to some of the fastest men on bikes in the world. Wow! Big thanks to my friend Rose for being my paparazzi (more pics to come)!
Long story short... I've fallen in love with cycling here and particularly enjoy the group that I cycle with (as motley and diverse of a crew we are...).
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