Another new era has begun!

Sunday wasn't just the first day I wrote a blog. It was also the first day I rode my new bicycle! After much trepidation and uncertainty, I finally became a 'biker chick' on Friday.

My husband Brian has owned a bicycle - a Trek 7.2 FX - since the summer of 2007, and he's been going on regular rides with several of our friends who also have bicycles. At first I expressed absolutely no interest in joining them - I was perfectly happy getting my exercise by going to the gym and walking at the park. I did not have fond memories of riding bicycles in the past, and I was quite sure I wouldn't enjoy it any more now than I did back then. However, as time passed, and the group went on more excursions, I began to rethink my anti-bicycle stance.

One particularly noteworthy occasion was back in early October, when I joined everyone on a day trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield National Park. While everyone else got on their bicycles and went off as a group to tour the battlefields, I was on my own, exploring a much smaller area by walking around by myself. Every now and again, the rest of the group would meet up with me as I was walking, but of course then they would pedal away to another destination. I did actually enjoy myself at the park- it was a beautiful day, and I did see quite a bit for just walking - but I know I would have had even more fun had I been able to be with the group the entire time.

So, as this year's bicycle season approached, I began thinking more seriously about getting my own bicycle. After all, I'm in much better shape than I was the last time I rode a bike, so that has to account for something. Plus, I'd be going riding with other people, which would undoubtedly make it more fun as well.

In early April Brian ordered some special biking sandals (they have soles so hard they could knock you out if you were hit on the head with them!), and they finally came in last week, so when he went to Cole’s Bicycle Shop on Friday to pick them up, I went along - ostensibly just to ‘look’ at bikes. Well, it turned into an hour and a half expedition! (Brian had to feed the parking meter three times!) We ended up working with one of the store owners, Cinda, who was just fantastic. She was very knowledgeable, and she helped me figure out what size bike I needed.

I ended up getting a Trek 7.3 - the men's model - which has a 22.5 inch frame. Even at that size, I have to have the seat raised a couple of inches in order for it to fit properly. The 7.3 is more expensive than the model Brian has, but I didn’t like the 7.2 FX they had in the store because it was a brownish color (I know, that’s a lame excuse), and the 7.3 was the only other one they had in stock that a) fit me and b) was similar in style to Brian’s (as in the type of riding it’s designed for) and c) was a color I liked :-) . I know I could have just ordered one, but I think Brian was also anxious for me to get a bike right away. And he paid for half of the entire bill (which was ghastly) – I think that was also because he wanted to encourage me as much as possible about getting into this. And it is a really good bike, so I guess that should presumably help to enjoy biking more – right? (as I desperately search for more possible reasons to justify spending so much money :-()

I did ‘girlify’ my bike a little by getting a women’s gel saddle on it, which has pink trim along the edge and a pink ribbon on the seat, and a pink water bottle cage.  :-) 

The great folks at Cole’s also made a few other adjustments/additions to my new bike. They installed a different handlebar stem, so the handlebars sit a little higher up and at an angle closer to my body, so I don’t have to bend over as much, which will hopefully protect my back. They also put different tires on it, so they’re more like the tires Brian has on his bike, which will be good since we’ll be riding on the same kinds of surfaces. And of course I had to get stuff like a headlight, a taillight, a computer, and a kickstand.  :-)

Then, of course, I had to get a helmet, gloves, bike shorts (two pair), and a helmet mirror. And Brian ended up getting a new helmet (since his is pretty old and they’re giving $15 off this month on helmets) and gloves as well.

So it ended up being quite an expensive trip to the bicycle shop on Friday! I'm really hoping it will turn out to be money well spent.

I didn’t get to try it out until Sunday afternoon, after everyone went home after the Mother's Day brunch. It has been a very long time since I rode a bike, and the last bike I owned was a three-speed, so I didn’t even know how to shift gears. Brian took me over to the parking lots of the schools right by our house, and first I rode around slowly, just so I could get used to being on a bicycle again. Then he explained to me about the gears and how and when to shift. There are a couple of inclines right there in the parking lots, so I was able to try out shifting gears in that environment first, which was good. After a while of just riding around in the parking lots, we did venture out into the town. We stuck to the side streets, for the most part. I ended up logging 8 miles on my first trip, which I know isn’t much, but I felt was a good start.

We went out again this evening, and we ended up going 8.5 miles. We were on some busier roads, and we also went up a couple of good-sized (or should I say bad-sized?) hills. I had some trouble shifting gears on the first hill, but I think that's the bicycle is still in the "breaking in" phase. Nevertheless, I did pedal the bike all the way to the top of both hills, which I felt was a pretty good achievement.

I did feel more comfortable this evening being on the bike and shifting gears, but I'm still having trouble adjusting and using my helmet mirror. However, I'm sure using it will become more natural over time, and I'll get it adjusted just right. I'm also still a little nervous about being on the road with lots of cars, especially if I have to do any hand signals, but I know I'll also get more comfortable with that over time. I'm hoping it won't be too long before I can join the rest of the group and not bring them down too much!

Oh, and in yet another milestone, I'm going to attempt to post some pictures of my bike below. I'm branching out like crazy! :-)