Back to Basics
Written by Brian Benavente, another of our SBT GRVL Athletes.
“We’ve come a long, long way together. Through the hard times and the good.””
I’ve put this off for a long time. It might have been due to finding motivation to write while living the trainer life along with going on two plus years of a pandemic. I’ve been riding a lot more besides commuting lately and it reminded me why I enjoy riding bikes. It’s the community, camaraderie, and connections that I’ve made that remind me why I get out of the house to do a simple ride around the town or exploring the near and far of Portland. The journey to ride SBT in August has been a constant reminder of taking it all back to square one and having the time of my life doing it.
Brian riding some local gravel in Oregon
The opportunity to support and help the All Bodies on Bikes movement was and continues to be something quite special to me. Size inclusivity has always been an issue for me and my time with cycling. I fell in love with cycling with a love for road racing and watching grand tours. I knew that I would never race any of them but damn, did I ever want to dress like them. It was a constant struggle in the beginning due to sizing, no aero-Euro-race fit would ever fit me and if it did, I looked like a human sausage casing. That was in the late 2000s and fast-forward to 2022, it is still hard out there. There are very few cycling apparel brands that make anything that fit and the crazy thing to me is, I am an extra large shirt wearer, nothing out of the ordinary. So it seems like it would be common size in the cycling world but it has been at times a rude awakening dealing with returns and self-esteem going down the toilet. During that rough time came about All Bodies on Bikes and the message they were spreading definitely struck close to home and the group that will be present at Steamboat will be a dream!
Focusing on the now of it all, it has been an absolute dream meeting the ABOB-SBT group. So many different backgrounds, experiences, and stories that span three countries! The support system that has been going through our Slack has been so heartwarming. It reminds me that no matter how much of a terrible day whether on or off the bike, that group will be there for you. The fact that love isn’t just on Slack but on social media has been great. We have a monthly meeting with everybody but connecting through Instagram has been awesome and brings even more fun to our meetings. It just isn’t a once a month thing to the group, it’s making a little community and bonds to remind us what we are there for, to have the time of our lives and show the world that no matter what, we belong here."
