Toughen the seat for biking season

This past winter was different.

Why?

Because we actually had a winter with snow and sleet and slush.

And the wind.

With the snow falling and wind blowing outside, people were inside the YMCA peddling away.

They were on the stationary bikes in the cardio area and spinning away as part of the rYde indoor class.

Many were trying to maintain fitness over the cold, winter months. Some were trying to drop those extra pounds put on over the cold, winter months.

But others were training for the summer and specifically for outdoor bike rides with long days in the saddle.

When I say “long,” I’m not talking about hopping on the bike for a trip across town to the pool.

Long means 60, 70, 80-mile rides, day after day, sometimes for an entire week.

Along with a lot of physical training, mental training is required to be able to be on a bike for 8 to 10 hours a day.

You can only look at cows and cornfields for so long before they all start to blend together and delirium sets in.

Usually, the spring is spent getting miles on the bike inside and outside.

But this winter and spring forced everyone inside longer than usual, not allowing us to get “seat time.

” For the uninitiated, “seat time” is getting your fanny toughened up for multi-day rides.

These rides are not races so we don’t necessarily have to be fast, but they do require endurance, i.e., tough tushies.

When it comes to bad weather, you may be saying, “Suck it up buttercup.” (O.K., that’s what I say.)

After all, the weather is going to be bad on some of the rides, so you might as well as get outside and train in bad weather.

And every time the weather was reasonable, my friends and I would ride outside.

I even bought my husband a bike which could ride through the snow. But the 60 mph winds and blowing snow just made it too dangerous sometimes.

But now the weather has changed and local cyclists are getting time outside on McCook streets and roads.

And just in time, because the long, organized rides are just around the corner.

McCook is in a unique position this summer when it comes to bicycling events.

In addition to the regular cross-country groups which pass through our area, McCook is hosting not one but two multi-day bike rides this summer, BRAN on June 4-5 and NUMB on June 24-28. Add in Michelle’s Triathlon on June 23, which is part of the local Republican River Fitness Series, and there will be a lot of bicyclists in our area this summer.

Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska will be in town in less than two weeks. On Monday, June 4, hundreds of cyclists, including dozens of local riders, will roll into town along with hundreds of support staff.

While BRAN has passed through McCook in recent years, McCook has not been an overnight town for more than two decades.

Not only is this an opportunity for McCook cyclists to have an organized ride close to home, BRAN offers the chance for McCook to shine for hundreds of out-of-towners.

The bikers will begin arriving in McCook mid-morning on June 4, after riding the 60 miles from Imperial.

Because it isn’t a race and riders are encouraged to explore the towns along the route, they will trickle into town throughout the day.

At this point, they will be abandon their bikes for the day.

Trust me, after 60 miles on a bicycle seat, you don’t want to get back on for a while.

Instead, they will take to foot or vehicles to find food or purchase things around town.

As part of McCook’s committee for BRAN, we have been trying to let businesses and the community know the bikers will be here.

But if we missed you and you would like more information or to be involved, please contact Jamie at the McCook Chamber.

In addition to welcoming the BRAN contingent while they are briefly here, please give the cyclists wide berth on the roads and slow down as you approach them.

No, we aren’t like wild animals who can spook easily.

Rather, we cyclists know we will be on the losing end of anaccident with a vehicle.

Slowing down behind the cyclists as they peddle down the road only delays you a fe w minutes but could leave a positive impression for a long time.

The BRAN riders, including myself and my family, will ride out of town early on Tuesday, June 5, headed east on an 85-mile ride to Alma.

Let’s leave the bikers with a positive impression of our town, because by Day 3 of BRAN, their “tushies” won’t feel very positive.