Rich and I got in an argument this morning, to be honest we've been fighting a lot lately. I'm not going to go into our personal business here but I will say, I left the house very angry. I straped on my helmet, grabbed a bottle of water and left. I forgot my sunglasses at home, not a smart thing to do when your planning on riding any sort of distance.
It's a beautiful day, perfect for a bike ride. Sunny and warm, but not too warm and a little breezy. To get to my sister's I had to ride a long highway 108 for about 4 miles. While most of the route is flat, the distance along the highway has some rolling hills as it's next to the river. There is very little shoulder on the road and at one point no shoulder on the way to my sisters. A little intimidating for my first time out. I made it to my sister's house in a little more than 45 minutes. She and the kids were outside and seemed very surprised that I made the ride. Relaxed a little, got a drink of water (I lost my water bottle on the dangerous part of the highway and didn't think it was worth getting in the road to retrieve it) and ate a protein bar. Then I rode back home. I had enough energy that I knew I could easily make the ride back, I was tired but not as bad as I thought I would be.
The route was nice. It made me appreciate the beauty of where I live and to be honest, I've never thought this area was that beautiful before. But today it was gorgeous. I wish I had a camera to take pictures. On the ride I seen several cyclists, mostly going the opposite direction. But on the way back two were going the same direction as me and even talked to me a bit and gave me pointers. So cool. He said I got a really good deal on my bike and that my gear seemed perfect for my skill level. That was reassuring. Things that I can improve upon is my riding technique, looking out a greater distance as I ride (will get better in time I'm sure and with glasses) , I'd like a new seat or some sort of padding (my bum hurts), biking clothes including shoes (in time) and a water bottle that fits better. Today I just lost a bottled water, I don't have an actual water bottle for my bike, but I'd like to get one.
I asked the other cyclist about my helmet, I just bought one off the shelf from Target. I don't know if there really is a difference between that and one at a bike store, or if there were features I should have looked for. He said, not to worry about it so much as long as if was comfortable and had good air flow, which it does. Specialty helmets come lighter but he said that isn't always a good thing for a new-bie who might fall down a lot. Good to know!
Anyways, I'm back home feeling very accomplished and I can't wait for my next big ride :)
No comments:
Post a Comment