This weekend I decided to ride my hybrid bike to meet some girl friends for brunch on Saturday morning. I chose my hybrid because a 3 mile section of the route goes through a park that has a path of dirt and rocks – not exactly skinny-tire friendly. The rest is all on-street or paved bike path riding.
A wonderful 15 mile ride in, then a 10 mile ride around Fairmount Park before we rode off to eat. We got a great table by an open window and enjoyed good food and a beautiful day. We then parted ways and I slogged through the 15 miles back home – it was uphill almost the entire way. At the end of the 3 miles of dirt and rocks, there is a 1.32 mile section of the road that is a 2% average incline – not insurmountable but certainly a challenge for any novice cyclist. Especially on a hybrid.
Let’s talk about bicycle weights here for a second. My hybrid bike is 34 pounds. My road bike is 17 pounds. When you are going uphill, you can definitely feel the weight difference. Where my road bike flies, my hybrid is sluggish. It’s like being with a couch potato (hybrid) or a fitness freak (road).
But to be clear – I ask a lot of my hybrid. It has no business doing 40 miles in a morning – it’s built for casual rides around town running errands or leisurely rides with my kids.
Couple this with my hybrid has platform pedals (the flat ones) whereas my road bike has dual-sided pedals that my shoes clip into, thus transferring power from my legs to the bike. Everyone said clipless pedals would change my life but I wasn’t convinced until I had them l and could literally feel myself become one with my bike and power up a hill. It’s a truly incredible feeling – I highly recommend it.
A key difference also is my hybrid has a triple crank (three front rings) where my road bike has a compact crank (2 front rings). This means I was able to get into the lowest of low gears to slowly but surely get to the top of the hill. I was already pretty fatigued from the earlier riding, which didn’t help the cause any.
Anyway ….the point being your gear can make or break a ride. I was wrecked and spent the rest of the day rehydrating and relaxing. Next time I head downtown for brunch I need to scope a road route so I don’t completely kill my body.
Or maybe I should think of it as really good training? I used to think a ride was only good if you felt wrecked afterwards – but even after 50 miles on my road bike I don’t feel totally wrecked. I like being able to function after a ride.
Today my kids and I went on a 5 mile ride on a beautiful bike path and it was fantastic. They all have mountain bikes so my hybrid was the right choice for gear. I matched my daughter’s pace at 5 mph and it was truly a fun, low-key ride. Exactly what my hybrid is built for.
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Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! Hope you enjoyed your day as much as I did.
wife. mother. awesome girl. 
Your hybrid needs a basket.
YES! And fenders.