I finally bought a bike!
For those of you who have just tuned in, I’ve been wanting a bicycle for quite some time, with the goal of completing a triathlon. Today, I got one.
My New Bike!
My husband went with me to the cycle shop, and decided he wanted one for himself as well. We left with two bikes, two helmets, a bike rack, and a lot of excitement.
We went down to one of the trails that runs alongside the river. We rode for just over an hour and covered almost 12 miles in that time. It’s amazing how much more ground you can cover on two wheels than on two feet. It was so. much. fun. but I was nervous and a little scared at first. Have I mentioned that I haven’t ridden a bike in 15 years?
As it turns out, it’s just like riding a bike.
It’s also quite a workout! Based on my weight and how long/fast we rode, I burned about 500 calories. For the most part, I didn’t even notice that it was exercise, but I did feel it in my quads when we climbed the few hills – for Pittsburgh, this was a very flat trail. The only parts of my body that are hurting now are my butt – I need to get a better seat or shorts with butt padding, and my face – I think I got wind burned… I was riding just that fast :) Tomorrow might tell a different story.
I think I progressed a lot in just over an hour – I went from being very nervous and wobbly to feeling reasonably confident and fairly steady. I’m sure that the more I ride, the better bicycler I’ll become. As with anything, practice makes perfect, right?
Owning a bicycle: The first step to accomplishing the biking portion of that triathlon. Yee haw!
