Test Drive

The rain managed to hold itself off long enough for me to get in a half hour bike ride and a half hour walk. I did the bike ride with Hammy. We stuck to the neighborhood streets, so I could get a feel for the bike before I start doing any off road stuff. Poor Hammy had a terrible time keeping up with his little five speeds against my twenty-seven. He did a pretty good job though, since he's more in shape than I am. I did take the bike off the dead end a bit and down our front steps, so I got a little feel for what I'll be doing on the trail. I have to admit it was pretty fun. B is taking me on a fairly easy trail next Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it.

It has been an unspeakably long time since I rode a bike. I had a ten-speed that moved with me when I left my parents house, but I never rode it. That was twelve years ago. I finally got rid of it before we moved here. I figured I wouldn't be riding here in Pittsburgh because of all the hills. Little did I know hills are exactly what I'd be looking to ride three years later.

The good thing is you don't forget how to ride. You just get rusty. Along with rust, I was a little nervous every time my speed got in the serious road rash range. I made the mistake of reading a section in the owner's manual that talked about bikes being no different than motorcycles at high speeds. I passed out in driver's ed during the motorcycle accident film. Thinking I could resemble any of those former people made me even more uneasy while breaking the residential speed limit. I was glad I'm mountain biking instead of road racing, though I know trail speeds can get pretty fast too.

The little bit I did go off road seemed much easier than I thought it would. The bike handles beautifully, though I think the shocks might be just a bit soft. What do I know though? I'll have to ask B when we get together. I seem to remember him saying something about that at the bike shop when I bought it. I can't remember, and I didn't think to ask when they tuned it up before I left. Hopefully he knows how to adjust those things if needed. Otherwise, I just have to get used to having shocks in the first place, which could be entirely the case here.

I don't really know anything about bicycle maintenance either. You'd think I never owned a bike with as little as I know. All I ever did was oil the chain every so often. That's as far as upkeep got for me. So I have a lot to learn in that department as well. I suppose I should read the manual a little more thoroughly, but who wants to do that?

When I was done riding that little bit for the day, I took the dog for a walk. We just went around the neighborhood about a mile and a half. That dog is even more out of shape than I am. She was panting like crazy and lying around the house for at least twenty minutes after the walk. I probably overworked her. Poor thing. I have to get her back in shape and get her running with me again.

The rain finally decided to show up only two minutes away from home. My helmet hair and I didn't mind too much though. It's been a fantastic day with the extended bed time this morning and the exercise this afternoon. I have a whole evening to myself after I get the kids in bed, since John has another gig tonight. Life can be so good sometimes.