A LESSON IN COMMITTMENT

I am troubled by the onslaught of fair weather riders. Please understand that I am not insisting that all motorcycle riders be hard core and ride in all types of weather, but I do feel that there needs to be a strong contingency of such riders.

To me fair weather riders are those cyclists who ride only when the conditions are suitable. They have a very specific set of criteria which include; temperature, wind, cloud cover, precipitation etc. Being able to ride in comfort without bundling up or wearing rain gear fits their idea of the joys of cycling. Fair weather riders are not necessary weak willed softies or unskilled riders that wear shorts, tee shirts and fip flops, but I do wish they would dabble a little into the "riding despite the weather" realm.

I am proud to say that a large percentage of the Nobodies are willing to ride in a variety of conditions. Dress to Impress is a fair weather rider, when it comes to commuting to work, but he will do all our club rides regardless of the weather. This fact encourages me and gives me confidence that our
younger riders are learning the value riding in inclement weather. I am proud to report that 60% of our membership are all weather riders regarding our club rides. We also have around 40% of our membership that commute regularly to work regardless of weather conditions. The epitome of hardcore biking was Mitch The Machine (pictured above). Mitch was a charter member of the Nobodies and embodied the spirit of our club. He won our first Continuous Commute Contest in 2006. Machine rode to work into mid November. He left the club a couple of years ago and moved to Minneapolis.

As we now start our club rides and incentives, allow yourself to try riding in less than ideal weather. I find it adventurous to brave all types of weather. There is a special camaraderie that occurs when we ride in difficult weather. It is not just a bond shared by riders that are stupid and shivering together, but the enjoyment of seeing the reactions from other people.

Remember we are the Nobodies, we're from Duluth and we're stupid.