Pedal Power

“You need new shifters,” the Bike Doctor told me last year. I gave him a puzzled look. “You're used to it, so you don't notice.”

He was right, of course. Lately I was indeed struggling to shift onto the big ring, so I caught up with him. “Should I source the parts, or do you want to source the parts?” I asked. I had decided on SRAM. He smiled. “I have the parts. Bring it by tomorrow.”

I'd have the bike with me; it would be [today] Bike-to-Work Day.

A long train of riders followed me ... I didn't drop a single one. Which was good, because I was Mother Goose and they were my goslings. Including a pair of co-conspirators on a tandem this year, upping the game: instead of the usual self-serve, the stoker/barista dispensed the coffee and doughnut bites.

The drill is routine now. Get everyone to arrive 15 minutes before we want to start rolling, because there will be Issues. Guaranteed. Helmets that need adjustments (two of them). One tire with a slow leak, needing a tube swap. One rider who mounted his front wheel backward (quick-release skewer reversed) and who couldn't re-rig his front brake. One rider whose bike “wouldn't go;” front reflector and brake pads jammed against the rim.

Having resolved all problems, mysterious and not, we set off nearly on schedule. Our friends on the tandem led a smaller group to meet us, and after picking up a few more colleagues en route, I set a gentle pace for a record 33-odd riders. Some were making the trip for the very first time.

I gave the usual morning pep talk: ride single file, give each other enough space (especially, the tandem), and don't take chances—if we don't all make it through a green light, we'll wait for you. Then, when I have their full attention, I tell them the most important rule of all: Have fun!

This year, the Cupertino Energizer station was prepared: there were enough musette bags for all. “It's like a swarm of locusts!” they exclaimed, as we finished off their strawberries and gobbled Hobee's famous blueberry coffeecake.

The trail presented a fresh challenge today: a large, fallen tree. The city was surprisingly accommodating, with workers to warn us and cones to guide us. They waited for the bike traffic to subside before closing the trail to clear it.

Not only was every rider still smiling when we arrived at work, 18 or more miles from the start, but a record number expressed interest in the end-of-day return trip. Hopefully, I would have a working bicycle on which to lead them.

I delivered my bike to the Doctor at noon. An hour later, it was ready to ride: new shifters, new chain, brakes adjusted, freshly lubed. The ride home seemed so effortless, I repeatedly checked my gearing. I can't explain it; the gearing, of course, was completely unchanged. I needed to slow down, and sometimes to wait, for the end of our evening train: a record-breaking nine riders were following me home.

Our mischief-makers on the tandem threw down the gantlet: on a flat straightaway, they cranked it up to some 29 mph, the strongest rider in our group giving chase with a stream of colorful words in his wake.

The group—still smiling—dwindled as riders split off onto their own direct routes home. But not before one of them quizzed me about how often I ride to work. [I try for at least one day per week, often more, and sometimes all five—round-trip.] “This was easier than I expected,” he said, “I think I could do this once a week.”

One tired, but proud, leader rolled home: 44 miles and 1,020 feet of climbing for me.

Ladies and gentlemen, another successful Bike-to-Work Day!