You may not be able to join the members of the Waterloo Region Freewheels Project on their group ride tonight, but you can catch up with most of them online anytime.
The 25 individuals who were given free Cannondales by Ziggy's Cycle and Sports are posting on their experiences, each on their own blog (see the home page here).
Some of the posts are relevatory about cycling in Waterloo Region: the lack of bicycle parking (hey Heuther -- how about a bicycle rack?), the number of motorists who don't understand that bicycles are allowed to use the road, the wonder of being able to cover so much ground with so little effort, and the exultant pleasure of that first bicycle commute to work.
I winced as I read of one rider's repeated contact with terra firma and nodded with sadness as another rider explored nearby neighbourhoods for the first time, and discovered what household neglect can look like if you are not speeding by in a car.
There is poetry (thank you Sara for the Ode to a Cannondale) and bike trivia (thank you Terry for informing us that the forerunner of the modern bicycle was the "draisine," invented by a German).
Some of the riders have discovered that 10 kilometres really isn't that far to ride when you're enjoying yourself, and one of them could see his odometer tick over to 1,000 kilometres tonight.
Some have posted only occasionally, and some post regular. It's a mixed bag of treats. Stick your hand in and see what you pull out.