I have started biking again, after my little 15 year hiatus. I finally pulled together enough information and credit to get my hands on some sort of bicycle. I can't afford a titanium or carbon fiber frame, and I got some economy-class eyewear and shoes, but I'm noticing a definate and steep difference between what I thought of as a "bike" when I was little, and what I wound up walking out of the store with.

It's the bumblebee bike I had looked up a while back. If I had to say two things about it, they would be: It's fast, and my ass hurts. I do have other things to say, though. It's so light, I can carry it into my house with one hand while opening doors and turning on lights with the other. It looks fast leaning against the wall. It has special pedals which latch onto special metal thingies on the required special shoes, and you have to learn to attach and detach these things without looking at them. If you stop moving but don't manage to free one of your feet, you will follow a graceful arc sideways and downward until your face meets the pavement. (This hasn't happened to me yet, but I'm still paying a paranoid amount of attention to where my feet are).

I'm pretty excited about having a form of external exercise after all these years of sloth. I took my body out today to go for a ride (average speed: 14.85 MPH. I know this because bicycles have COMPUTERS on them now!!), and it soon started complaining about being tired. Continuing on, it owned up to not really being tired, and served up another period of abundant energy. After a slightly longer duration, it started feeling tired again. This time, I took a short break and sprayed water from the water bottle DIRECTLY INTO MY THROAT GACK. After a rest, it was time to head back, and I made it the peasly 7 point something miles back without stopping (except for a drawbridge, which tested my hanging-onto-stationary-objects-while-clipped-in skills). Clearly, I am out of shape, but taking steps to change this.

I wasn't alone in my Alki adventure, either. Helen rented a Specialized Allez A-1 Sport for the express purpose of showing me how to not get hit by cars when wandering around the city (and also to constantly leave me in the dust). I will be going out on my own tomorrow, testing different saddles. Because: My ass hurts a lot. Also, I leave for Oregon. And pay off the insurance people and get new insurance and stuff, and pack.

It's very easy to become obsessed with gear.

15.1 / 20