Bike riders take it slower

Zonda Hillman is unlike a lot of cyclists who discovered the sport during the Lance Years -- 1999 to 2005, when American Lance Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour de France titles, exposing the sport to America.

First Hillman got into cycling to supplement her weight lifting. Second, unlike seemingly every other cyclist who has jumped on the cycling paceline since 1999, she's not obsessed with speed.

Hillman begin riding in 2000 in San Antonio. When she moved here, she couldn't find a ride to fit her admittedly slow pace of 12 to 15 mph. So she started her own, a ride that has proved Hillman isn't alone when it comes to what local cycling fixture Adrian Hands refers to as riding at a "sensible pace."

Hillman agreed to sit down at the keyboard with Get Out! Get Fit! for an e-interview. A more complete version of this interview can be found at the Get Out! Get Fit! blog at http://blogs.newsobserver.com/joemiller.

GOGF: How did you start what became the SlowSpokes bike club?

Hillman: While serving as membership coordinator for the North Carolina Bicycle Club in 2005, I e-mailed nine members who listed wanting slower riding paces on their membership applications and asked if they were interested in a slow riding group. They were all very interested. I created the group in February 2005 and it exploded from there with 200-plus members to date.

GOGF: Are you surprised by the number of people interested in your rides? The SlowSpokes Web page lists 228 members.

Hillman: I am surprised by the success of the group. When I first had the idea to create a slow group, most people didn't understand why anyone would want to ride slow and did not expect the group to be a success. Now we have paying sponsors and bike shops soliciting us to lead rides from their shop. We are filling a huge void in the cycling community by offering rides at beginner, D and C pace levels. Also, all bikes are acceptable on our rides without being judged. You can ride with us on your mountain bike or whatever bike you have as long as it's in good working condition.

If you are wondering who is riding with the slowest rider, that is me 99 percent of the time. I think I rode two or three times for myself in 2006. However, I have several others who agreed to help lead beginner rides in 2007, so I can do longer rides and not be tied to shorter beginner rides each week. Most beginner level riders put away their bikes in September, so I've been able to do some longer rides through December.

GOGF: How would you characterize your fellow slowpokes?

Hillman: Single and married professionals busy with work, families, etc. We enjoy cycling, but have other commitments that take priority over cycling. The age group of people who attended rides is from late 20s to 70s. Our regular riders are in the 30-50 year age group. We have riders who logged a few hundred miles [a year] to riders who logged 3,000-plus miles. (I logged 1,100 miles since April.) We have riders with high-end bikes as well as less expensive bikes.

Many of our riders attending Cary shop rides this fall drove in from North Raleigh, Garner, Clayton and Wendell.

GOGF: How do you deal with hammerheads who come in and want to blow the ride apart by going 14 mph?

Hillman: 14 mph :) ... Our hammerheads ride at 15-17 mph, but this isn't a problem because we offer something for all levels of riders on each ride.

For rides I organize, I offer two to three different routes, typically a beginner route of 10-25 miles, a 30-40 mile route and a 50-60 mile route. The advertised pace is 10-15 mph, but we have a few riders at 16-18 mph pace. I post a ride announcement and request an R.S.V.P. with the rider's route choice and pace. At the ride start, I group riders together based on their route choice and pace. All riders stay together until the designated breakaway point (about 3-5 miles from the start). Then the riders separate into their subgroups. No one gets dropped and everyone rides with riders at their level.

GOGF: What do you like about going slow?

Hillman: I like riding slow because it keeps me leaner. I can also take in the beautiful scenery and chat with fellow riders along the way. You can enjoy the sunrise/sunset, rolling hills, seeing the trees bloom in the spring and leaves changing colors in the fall. I don't think the speed demons are missing anything by riding fast. We all get what we want, it's just different.