Organized Charity Bike Rides

This will probably be a bit of rambling here, but I am rethinking my perception of organized/charity bike rides after participating on one this weekend. I rode in the Fallbrook Avenue of the Oaks Metric Century charity ride Saturday. As for the ride itself, it was challenging. There were many, many hills. In a way, I was glad it was over. I have ridden a few organized rides over the last few years, but this was my first in over a year. In that time, I think my attitude towards rides like this has changed somewhat. I used to get psyched up for these types of rides. Although they are not races, it was still fun to see how many riders you could pass, see how quickly you could finish. This time, I did not really care about who I passed. I passed several, and several passed me, too. I was not concerned about how quickly I could finish. I was also more aware of the types of riders among the group. Most seemed to be men ranging from their late 20's to mid 50's or so, most had nice, fairly new, sleek, expensive road bikes. I might be wrong, but I would guess that most of these men (and a few ladies) only ride in group rides or training rides. They probably do not do much, if any, cycling with a destination as a purpose (such as commuting or shopping), or just simply cruising around by bike for fun. I guess I might classify them as "wanna be racers". I'm not really knocking that, it can be a lot of fun. For many people, organized rides are the closest they will get to riding a race, kinda like riding in the Tour de France if you will. There is a certain thrill in that. I guess where I am coming from is that my take on riding has morphed from riding for the thrill of riding in a big loop as fast as you can to riding with a purpose (as in a destination), or just to get out and cruise around a bit, preferably with the family when possible. I do still like to get out by myself on long training rides when I can, since those types of rides do help build endurance and give me a chance to unwind in a way. However, I try to makes these rides not an act of punishment, but as a way to see some of the local sites in a way that you cannot by any other method. Bikes do not only need to be recreational, they can be everyday transportation vehicles as well. If every one of the riders in this last organized ride were to commute by bike or run errands once in a while by bike, wow what a difference that would make. There is definitely not a lack of cyclists in this country, it is just their purpose for cycling that, if modified to include practical uses, could really make a huge difference in the world.