March 31, 2013

   Despite the holiday (Easter), I went out on the bike after a bit of a hiccup...gotta love washing machines that decide to leak and have to be replaced!  But after getting back from Lowes, we had lunch, then I donned my gear (70F, so shorts and short-sleeve jersey!) and headed out onto the trails on the new road bike.
    It's amazing how much easier it is to get up to higher speeds with the road bike, to the point that down is still somewhat intimidating!  I felt more natural on it this time as I made it through town in a lot less time than it usually takes, and did I mention that it was 70F?  WOW!  I did mess up at a tricky intersection (not very busy, so it sometimes doesn't change) as I dropped my water bottle as the light changed and had to wait until more cars came along to trigger it, and then another cyclist came up behind me.  As I took off from the light, I was keenly aware of two things: there was someone behind me who was probably either pacing me or passing me; and I couldn't see them or the cars at all as I'm still not confident enough in the new posture to look over my should on the new bike.  I kept up at about 18-20 mph until I reached the trail head and pulled over, only to see that another cyclist than the one I remembered was behind me and the other one was way behind.  Nice!
     I did two laps of the greenway path, then I headed back onto the busy road, a bit tired and sore: my neck and hands were definitely feeling it!  I have found that going up the hills is far easier than it was on the heavier hybrid bike, though I'm still not quite there with standing on this bike to climb.  Toward the end of the ride, though, is a hill that I have to also turn left while going down, and I was again keenly aware of no mirror and jerked the handlebars in a way that scared me as I looked over my shoulder (or tried to).  So, upon further reflection on the desire to not meet a car on the road, I moved the mirror from the hybrid to the road bike and look forward to seeing how it works.
     In the meantime, I made it home from Easter dinner.  So I made 32 miles on the bike...and the perma-sleeves, gloves, and shorts that had been fading with the winter months out of the sun?  Well, I unfortunately reinforced them all with a bit of a sunburn...I will definitely be doing better about putting on sunblock in the future....