There's Got To Be A Morning After...

…and blessedly, the pain is minimal! However, I have come to several conclusions regarding bike riding and me. Don’t worry though, like most problems, they only take money to fix.

1) I definitely need street wheels. Mountain bike tires make every slight upgrade feel like slogging through heavy mud.

2) I need to invest in biking shorts – though I have been told that the chafing protection only works if you don’t wear underwear. (I’m not sure how bike shorts with no underwear would fly at choir practice!) If I can't afford the gel-chamois shorts (or can't get them in a size big enough to cover my rear) then I'll have to pick up a gel-chamois seat cover.

3) I should invest in toe clips, or the shoes with automatic toe clips, which I was informed increase the efficiency of every pedal stroke.

4) I really need to learn how to use the gears. I never had a bike when I was growing up. Only rich people’s kids had bikes with gears and hand brakes. The bike I learned to ride on belonged to a friend. It had one speed and back-pedal brakes.

5) I need to raise my handle bars. It seems that I lean forward while riding, leaning on my hands and putting pressure on the carpal nerves. A mile or two into the ride, both hands start getting painfully numb.

6) I need a water bottle holder and some other type of contrivance to hold necessities.

7) Last but not least, I need a chain and lock. Normally I ride to a destination where there is not much worry about the bike disappearing, but that will not always be the case.

By my calculations, it will cost about $200 to resolve my biking dilemnas. Guess I better get a part time job to pay for the new vice. In the meantime, it's more sore glutes and slogging up inclines!

The Weather, The Bike, The Good Intentions...

I am more than just a little miffed at the weather. I know we need the rain, but when I actually make the effort to get more exercise and I really want to ride my bike, an evening of rain and cold, followed by an evening of more cold, simply spoil my multitasking plans.

Monday is choir night, and I have discovered I can trek the 6 to 8 miles between home and the church (depending on the route I take) in less than 40 minutes. This is ideal for a number of reasons.

1) I get in a quick burst of exercise, then I sing my lungs out.

2) I don’t waste too much time riding the bike because it only takes marginally longer to get there on two wheels.

3) Psychologically speaking, I have a destination…it’s not simply heading out to take a joy ride.

I’ve never been an exercise buff, so riding for the sake of riding isn’t something that comes naturally. Riding with a destination is your basic two birds, one stone scenario…a no-brainer for an inveterate multitasker.

By the time practice is over, it’s too dark to ride home, so I schedule a pick-up in the old mini-van. This arrangement is even more convenient because heading home is mostly up hill, and it has been many, many months since I’ve been in the saddle. Last Monday was my first trek out this season and resulted in two numb hands and various other parts not accustomed to the “abuse” of a long ride. But I will get used to it soon enough.

Here’s hoping next Monday’s weather is better!