One of MY weaknesses is definitely RIDE PLANNING!
It seems that in some areas I am a total overachiever, and in others, things clearly do not even rank on my scale of even being noticed! Ride planning is one where I am a waaaayyyy overachiever!! I think that I am more of the planner off the bike so that when I am on it, I can go with the flow. I really enjoy riding with people who are good with having a plan but are open to let the highway lead the way too!
This is not to say that for many years I just got on the bike and rode. There are still times that I do this . . . . this is at the heart of riding for me. The idea behind having done the research beforehand is to be able to know and go straight to this information quickly and easily while out on the road.
I recently realized how much more I can see and do when talk to other bikers about their rides. Our country (as I am sure all landscapes and countries) have wonders that are right in front of us and we just do not see them! It helps to know if they are there, what to look for, and where to turn to get to them! This is why I decided to start planning out some of my rides too!
The Lovely Biker Babes
The girls (Julie, Lane, Sandra, Krystal) and I are planning a “get-together / sit down” planning session to hatch out what we all want to do this coming year! We all had a chance to put in two riding events on the list, (and we came up with more rides than we can possibly schedule for this year!) Now we are going to prioritize and strike through items as we discuss them. I love the at these ladies are all willing to participate and say where they want to go, what they want to do, and are willing to work together to get out year planned out!!
It is so easy to work out what we want to do together when we have all the information in our hands. (But even with a planned ride, this impressive group whom we refer to as “The Iron Angels” is adaptable and always open to adventure. No one is dominating or argumentative on our rides. It is simply all about the ride with each of us. So, it is easy to change directions-often on the spur of the moment-decide what things we can do together and do something different rather than what was originally planned! Being rigid, controlling, or argumentative takes away all sense of fun and adventure. I would rather be as independent as I can when riding, preferring to pay for a hotel as opposed to riding for half a day to reach an accommodating but free place to stay. My point of view is, I prefer to be with people who are open to change and redirection. I understand it may take more resources, but I am willing to save to do that, as are all the ladies in the Iron Angels! Freedom to choose is important to each of us in this group!!
Our Group’s Planning Process!
We are meeting later this month to get all our 2024 plans finalized. I have created a sheet that will help us each year to prioritize and layout what trips we are wanting to include. Anything that does not make it into the current year will roll over to the next . . . . I am sure some tweaking to this system will have to occur as we work through it the first couple of years. We are meeting and projecting the plan, we will be able to look at the dates, priorities, re-sort, and create our own Iron Angels Calendar!
Biker Babe Mountain Rider 
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