Easy, breezy biking fun

Jason Jarvis may look all business with a racing-styled helmet, cycling shorts, and a sleek, hot green bike, but he laughed at the notion that members of the Borderland Bicycle Club were out for anything but fun here Sunday.
“Some of us wear spandex, but we’re not racers,” he joked.
Jarvis and the other eight riders biked for 25 km along some easy country roads by the Rainy River in the club’s summer “River Road Ramble.”
If 25 km seems like a lot, consider that Jarvis rides along with his six-year-old son, Conal. And the riders agreed that what sounds like a marathon on foot is breezy on two wheels.
“25-k is an easy bike ride,” Jarvis said, noting the slowest rider of the bunch finishes in a little over an hour.
“It’s not like people think of on TV,” he added. “We’re just out to ride and have fun.”
Marjorie Katerick is a testament to that kind of attitude. She played coy with her age—“I’m not 40 [anymore],” she joked—but she bikes with the club often.
“I go out because I enjoy bicycle riding,” Katerick said. “There’s no limit in how fast you have to go or when you have to be back. It’s just for enjoyment.”
Plus, she smiled, “it’s fun to be with this group,”
Jarvis is one of the organizers of the event, which also has a fall equivalent on Sept. 30. He said the idea behind the “River Road Ramble” is to raise the public profile in the club in the community to try to bring some new cyclists along for the ride.
And sure enough, a few new faces showed up Sunday afternoon.
“All we’re doing is trying to get folks out and ride, try to have fun. We’re not trying to save the world,” Jarvis said. “It’s just encouraging folks to come out and ride in a non-competitive environment.”
“Just trying to get some more recreational riding,” agreed fellow member Chris McKinnon, who owns Skates & Blades—the de facto headquarters for the club.
The weather was with the club Sunday afternoon—bright and clear for the day and the wind at their back for the last half of the ride.
Jarvis agreed the club was able to take advantage of some of what makes this area great: nice roads, low traffic, the local scenery, and, of course, the weather on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
The club meets for regular rides during the week aside from a handful of event rides throughout the season.
Further details are available at http://borderlandbicycleclub.googlepages.com/home