Riding with the 60/40 group (Part 1)

Recently, all my stars aligned at once and I’ve had the good fortune of joining the 60/40 group.

The 60/40s are a bunch of cycling enthusiasts on the Kapiti Coast, who meet every Sunday for a ride and coffee.  There’s quite a spread of cycling ability, but the ethos of the group is to increase fitness and cycling skills while supporting each other and having fun.  The rides have been varied so far, but generally are about 3 hours long with around 15-20 riders participating.  Apparently “60/40” refers to the female/male ratio.

I knew the group was around from reading the notices on the Kapiti Cycling Club website, but first really became aware of them when I began crossing their paths while walking past the Robert Harris cafe at Coastlands.  That’s the sort of group I want to be part of, I’d think each time, as I enviously viewed the friendliness, cameradie, and interplay between the members.  Coffee was also a major attraction.  This is what cycling should be about!

For a long time my desire to join had been thwarted by it not fitting in with my schedule.  The group wouldn’t be able to replace the long, hard hours I was getting from my Saturday rides and I couldn’t really take yet another weekend day away from all the responsibilities of house and family.  However, after the Graperide Ultimate, I realised that I would need to increase my weekly hours on the bike if I was going to complete the Enduro Maxi.  A ride with the 60/40s would be a great way to end the training week!

My first ride with them was on Sunday 1 April, and since then I’ve had four more rides.  What a great bunch of people!  I’m slowly beginning to know some of the riders a bit more.  It’s great for me, as I’ve always gone for rides by myself in the past.  John Barber is king pin and a top fellow.  He seems to be the natural leader of the group, not only planning the rides but always having a cheerful word with people and doing his best to keep us together.  Lisa Forde is another really bright, cheery ray of sunshine – what a smile!  I loved riding up the Akas last weekend with the friendly and very pleasant Ian, and it’s great crossing swords with Martin and Howard as they always surge ahead to lead the bunch on the flats.  My main mission at the moment, however, is to see if I can match the pace of Janice as she breaks out to sprint the last bit of road before the Otaihanga footbridge – it hasn’t happened yet!