Today, A Break

Today, instead of the interminable vacation slideshow (trust me, you are being spared the brunt of the the 850+ photos taken!) I have a question to pose.

Does this bike make my butt look big?

Yes indeedy.  This one has a sweet new ride as of this past weekend. (I always ride with a helmet.  Always.  I just rode in a circle out of the drive and back for The Guy to shoot a couple of photos of me. But I am a helmet wearer, trust me.)

After hearing from a co-worker how 'she just coasted to work' after borrowing her boyfriend's road bike, I started thinking.  Could it be?  Could I be laboring on my commute more than necessary?  Are those passing me passing me for reasons other than the fact that I am old?  Am I slow for reasons other than being old?

Soooo in our runnings around, and getting re-grounded in general, this past weekend, we happened upon some bikes...that were on sale.  And well, one thing led to another, and before I knew it...I am a proud new mama of a speedy new Trek city-style bike (technical term).

Really.  Go to the Trek website.  There are about dozen different 'styles' of bikes.  Who knew.  And Trekkie v.2 is considered a 'city-style'. As opposed to Trekkie v.1, which is a hybrid, which I am keeping for now.  As opposed to the Hiawatha Jet that was my 8th birthday present (circa. 1963) that would be considered a 'cruiser', which I have kept for lo, these many years, so why stop now.

And you know really what else?  I ride like the wind now!  Where I use to go the slowest?  Now my slowest is almost faster than my fastest use to be!  That makes sense to me...you  may have to think about it.

It is taking getting used to, I will admit.  It is lighter, and I tend to overcompensate.  My turns are a bit wide. And when I reached for my water bottle, well....let's just say, there is more getting used to there as well.  I will make sure the path is free from oncoming traffic when I need a drink for a while.

Also. It rained on the way home today.  So that's out of the way.

I am convinced, however, that where I was limited to my commuting before to three times weekly because of sapped energy resources, I think I can probably ride all five days now, barring errands and other necessities requiring a car commute.

Now, maybe I will go find some sweet jumps.

Week’s Half Baked

On the upside of this week, I got back on the exercise routine. I got off the routine last week after the floor scrubbing/painting soreness/tiredness, with Wonderful Guy being gone a couple days and all the morning routine falling to me. With the wonderful weather this week, not only have I been back at my stationary bicycle in the morning, but got in some lunchtime walks, and after work walks, too. Best Dog Ever has been particularly pleased. There is a new park over our way, brand new, as a matter of fact. Just completed last fall. It’s a wonderful and convenient place for getting out and about. Look what they have done with a couple of tree stumps.
In other news, a local bike shop started a sale today, including a particular bag that fits the rack I have on my bike. I have one bag I have used for two years successfully, and wanted another to expand my carrying capacity. Room to carry a coat on my way home from work that I wear on my way to work will enable me to start riding sooner this year. Room to carry some groceries, even. Room to carry a picnic lunch for Wonderful and me? We’ll see about the last….
I am pumped to start the riding, but temps are supposed to drop by 15 degrees tomorrow. Ahhhh…..spring! That’s okay. Little green shoots promise me the ground is warming, and soon there will be a weekend warm enough to allow some flowerbed cleaning

In the meantime, I am de-cluttering. I cleaned out some books (shock horror!) this past weekend, and donated to the Friends of the Library. Five boxes of mostly Time-Life books. Hope someone is as taken with them as I was at one time. (I saved two sets, one each on gardening and sewing. Those were my mother’s.) That task also included the straightening and dusting of all the bookshelves…no mean feat! The kitchen has also been de-cluttered and re-organized through the painting process. I am feeling good about all this! My goal is to continue with smallish projects, areas, and goals, collecting the matter in a space in the basement. The neighborhood garage sale is in June. If I last that long, fine, or it may all go to charity. Habitat for Humanity is just down the road, after all.

Somewhere about 1964…

I received a bicycle for my 9th birthday. As fortune would have it, I have been able to keep that bicycle, and it is ride-able shape today.

It was not always so. In 2005, Wonderful Guy took it to a local bike shop, and had my antiquish bike all fixed up. Notice the white wall tires, new pedals, and bell! (We live in a very bike friendly town. There are no fewer than 14 bicycle sales and repair shops around this small city of 131,000!)

This was the same year I injured my knee in a skiing accident that required surgery (another story, another post) . Suggested therapy for recovery from said surgery included, among other exercises, bicycling. This old ‘girl’s bike’, was just the ticket. The cut-away allowed easy mounting/dismounting. It was not too tall, which allowed easy and secure maneuverability. The ‘bad’ leg could go around with the pedal, or not, as needed, during the loosening up stage of exercising. We rode ever so slowly around our neighborhood in the summer evenings, loosening and strengthening the knee. It worked, and the knee is all better, even if I haven’t had the courage to try skiing again. (Maybe this season, I hope. Maybe not. But maybe. Agrh! I am so conflicted!)

The next spring, for my 51st birthday, Wonderful Guy presented me with this! He thought enough time had passed, and I deserved my next new bicycle.

I had always thought I would like to bicycle to work, but didn’t have a good bike to ride. Well, that excuse was not a viable one any longer. So how was I going to go about doing this? I needed to be prepared. What route would I follow? (I wanted to avoid the busy streets.) How long would it take me? What did I need to take with me? How would I carry it? What sort of condition would I be in when I got to work? What if I had a flat? Or an accident? Or….
STOP ALREADY! Did I want to or not? I very much did, but I was paralyzing myself with the need to be prepared for all possibilities. I elicited a promise from Wonderful Guy to rescue me if I called for help. I plotted a basic route. I packed only the bare necessities- a local bike route map, my lunch, a change of clothes, my cell phone in a (gi-nourmous) daypack (we use for dayhiking!), and a water bottle. And on a Friday late in May, I left the house for work, on my new bike. Took me about 35 minutes. It was nerve-wracking at times not being familiar with the route, but the morning weather was pristine and glorious, and I was hooked.

On seeing my effort to ride my new bicycle, for our anniversary (which falls not long after my birthday) Wonderful Guy gave me a flat repair kit, and a saddlebag in which to carry my lunch, work clothes, and other items I determined I required. The last two summers, I have averaged about 800 miles riding to and from work. Not bad for an old lady!

Even though snow is in the forecast for tonight, and the temperature will dip below 0° (Shiver. My. Timbers.), I am thinking longingly of when it will be above 50° in the morning, and I can start riding again. Oh, I know. I might be a wimp. There are those who ride no matter what. ("There is no bad weather, only bad gear"…blah blah blah….) I see them out there, but I am what I am, and that is a fair weather rider!

Eldest Daughter provided the bling for my bike….I am also 2FAST4U! (This is usually read as I am passed by others….)