Nicoletta rode over the overpass at the same time I did and then began to move ahead. I called out, “Excuse me. I have a question.” She slowed a bit, I pulled up alongside of her and we rode the rest of the way together, talking. “Why are there no other women cyclists?” I mentioned that I see only 1 woman per 200 or 300 cyclists.
(Just recently I wrote about this in the “Rolling Ciao” post.)
She said that they don’t like to get tired or sweaty, and that they don’t like to go out unless the weather is warmer.
It was such a surprise and a treat to see her, and we enjoyed the chat along the way. Nicoletta is also an independent consultant, and therefore, has a flexible time schedule. And she lives close by. I gave her my card and we may ride now and then in the afternoons together.
She just came back from a bike tour out of Rome in January and will forward the bike touring information to me. An Italian road tour is sounding very good to me these days.
It pleases me that I can just be riding along, and have such a wonderful encounter out-of-the-blue. Those moments are the real high points of my being here, and they’re the simplest.