Last night was my first urban mountain bike ride for a pre St. Paddy’s day celebration. Basically bar hopping on bikes to the local Irish Pubs - awesome, right?! Roughly 30 of us donned in whatever green we had, set out for a very casual ride. Our route took from the quaint thatched roof of Four Green Fields through downtown Tampa with stops at Irish 31 and MacDinton’s, then returned to Four Green Fields for a buffet dinner ready when we got back. Salad, Shepherd’s Pie and Irish soda bread = yum! Check out my Garmin map of the route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/158374976
Irish 31 had a cozy indoor atmosphere with a spacious outdoor patio with live music. Unfortunately though for us, there was a kid’s birthday party (yes, you read right - kid’s party at a pub…yeah) that left the place without a seat or server to be had. It took far too long to get drinks, leaving some of our crowd antsy and the mood a little turned.
MacDinton’s was much more accommodating with its spacious outdoor patio that had plenty of space to park our bikes and pull up to the bar, and a friendly bartender. More relaxed and ready to celebrate, conversation and laughter was flowing. I’d definitely like to return to this place.
Here’s the thing: This is the type of event that I would normally get an invite to, immediately think how awesome it would be, then talk myself right out of going.
While I’ve always been a little shy, over the past few years my anxiety in small to medium group settings, especially where there are people I do not know, has slowly seemed to escalate. Probably exacerbated by my tendency to give in to my anxieties and stick with only comfortable situations. But I’ve decided, no more (or at least not as much! Baby steps.).
So when we decided to sign up for this event, the anxiety immediate started. What should I wear? Just green, or full-on “I’m a St. Paddy’s Day freak”? If I don’t decorate my bike will I be the buzz kill? But if I’m the only one all decked out will I look like the odd ball? Should I trade out my clipless pedals for platforms? Clacking cleats will draw some attention. Will the group go too fast for me? I should probably avoid saying too much/saying something stupid. But if I don’t talk enough, no one will know who I am and I’ll continue to live a friendless life drowning in my couch, they’ll stop selling my favorite ice cream, and the sky may actually fall! AAAAAHHHHH! Okay, Stop.
Just goSocialize.
So, of course, I went. And what came of all my terrible fears? I’d be lying if I said all the anxiety just went away. There were parts where I wasn’t ‘comfortable’ and my fears crept back. But I faced them. I fought them. And in the end, I had fun - an amazing side effect of letting go. It was a beautiful evening for a ride with interesting, positive, active people and a few friendly beers along the way.
Being a part of a community like mountain biking provides opportunities I would not otherwise have or seek out. There is a poster on my wall at work from Sacred Rides that collected all the reasons why their Facebook community readers ride. One of those is “because mountain bikers are great people”. And it’s true.
So get out there. goMTB and goSocialize. You never know, you might just find yourself having fun.
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