Wowsers does not my butt ever hurt! This morning I decided to give the 2003 Fuji road bike a spin to test it out. Now I am clueless when it comes to bikes so it is not like I really know what to look for when riding, but my biggest concern was comfort and how I felt on the bike. This bike a buddy picked up for me on Craigslist for $80. This is a steal.
I headed out this morning for the bike path. To get to the bike path from my house I have to ride about 2 miles on some pretty busy roads. I was fine until I decided the one road was too busy for me so I went to the sidewalk. I realized right away why I don’t see people riding road bikes on sidewalks. There is so suspension and it was not a good way to start the ride. My aim was to get a decent ride in with my big goal of riding 20 miles, but going at least 10 miles. I was not sure what to expect as I have not ridden a bike in a long time, am still trying to get myself back in decent shape, and this being my first time really riding this bike.
I made my way to the bike path and felt good. I was able to get into a decent rhythm while riding, but like running I had a hard time staying in that zone. The gear shifters are not on the handlebars so I was trying to get used to how to shift. There were times I needed to ease up and I shifted the wrong way and one time going downhill I needed to move to higher gear and went the opposite way causing my feet and legs to take off and I about flipped back on the bike.
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| Not the best picture, but he was right there on edge of the bike path. |
With all being said it was a gorgeous morning. I loved the bike. I loved the bike ride. I ended up riding 25 miles. I completed the ride in 1:34 which is about a 3:47 mile pace. This does include a few stops on the way back when trying to cross some main streets and stopping one time to take a picture of a bald eagle. My fastest mile was 3:07 and my fastest speed was 25 mph. I am still a little shaky on the bike when going fast.
I survived the bike ride. My legs are tired. My butt is super sore, but my spirits are high. Not too bad considering I have zero bike gear. I biked with just regular pedals and running shoes. I biked without bike pants so my padding was my running tights. I biked without understanding how to shift gears. And I loved every minute of it.
I think I could really get into biking. I think after this one ride I feel enough excitement to pursue my biking skills and knowledge more which is a right step in the direction of me trying a triathlon next year.
This bike ride was just what I needed. It refueled my passion to get back into exercise. I had a good week of training, but today really kick started(saying this phrase made instantly start singing some Motley Crue so I added the music video) my excitement to get back into the swing of things. I hope to end the week with a good run tomorrow. My goal is to go for a 7 mile run to work on building my legs back up to running a mid long distance.
On the ride back I took a few pictures and will be using those for a little mini series of motivation this week on my blog to get back to the GETTING IT DONE mantra mindset. Stay tuned. Get outside this weekend and enjoy the weather. It will soon be gone.
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