Cycling in 2020
A little bit of normal in a year that has been anything but
The effect of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 has been far-reaching, impacting most aspects of our professional and personal lives and requiring us to adapt along the way. While we have a few rides during the winter months when weather allows, the official ride season for the Village Idiots Cycling Club (VIC2) typically kicks off in late April or early May with the much-anticipated unveiling of the club’s newest jersey and a celebration of the many days of cycling yet to come. This year, however, was not typical.
The jersey reveal party was canceled and organized rides were put on hold as we dealt with the uncertainty and fallout of rising COVID cases: illness, the closing of schools and businesses, travel restrictions, face mask requirements, curtailed social engagements, etc. Life slowed down considerably with canceled travel plans, limited entertaining and lots of time at home. As guidelines for outdoor activities were put into place VIC2 proceeded with caution and started to post some rides. Those early rides were treasured by those of us who were starting to tire of walks around the neighborhood and the nearly exclusive company of our household members! It didn’t take long to adjust to spacing ourselves further apart while riding, conversing from a distance, having post-ride coffee outside and wearing masks where required. The benefits of fresh air, exercise and the company of others far outweighed these minor adjustments.
Despite the slow start VIC2 managed to pack a lot into the season. Our charitable efforts continued with the club donating over $3,600 to the Help and Hope Center. We held our bi-annual adopt-a-road clean-up, and at a snowy day bike drive we collected 30 used bikes to help Project Recycle. Collectively we rode nearly 14,000 miles. A silver lining of having schools and many businesses closed was reduced road traffic and the flexibility to ride off hours that working from home allowed. Some of our more memorable rides included our annual Signature ride, which this year was a scavenger hunt competition incorporating some local historical trivia, a beautiful ride in Frisco to see the Fall foliage, and a first ever club ride to the summit of Mt. Evans which was closed to motorized vehicles this year.
The craziness of this year has helped shine a light on some of the simple pleasures in life that we might otherwise take for granted, like getting lost in the joy of a bike ride.