Hitting the Road!

I have found a new passion - hitting the road! For Christmas, Dennis completely caught me off guard by getting me an awesome road bike. I was certainly not expecting it! I was not into biking. I already have a pretty pink beach cruiser with flowers on the big fat tires that I have only ridden a few times, and was perfectly happy with that. I guess I had mentioned once while driving past a group of bicyclists on the road that that looked like fun. That comment was enough for Dennis to get a road bike for me.

At first I was kind of bugged that he would spend that kind of money on a bike that I didn't even know I would use. After all, he could have spent that money on a new camera lens I know I would have used. But, then again, it was a cool looking bike, black, white, and pink! Pink! He did so good at picking it out for me. I love the look of it. But it sat there in my living room under the Christmas tree a week before I even got the courage to take it for a short spin around the block. I was intimidated by that fine piece of equipment and afraid of crashing it, so it just kind of sat there, even after I had it fitted.

Then I heard about a free 4 weekend Cycling 101 class given by our local rec district. I signed the whole family up, and my sister Lisa attended as well. It was a great class, part classroom instruction, part on-the-road practice. It seems that there wouldn't be much to learn, but surprisingly, we learned a lot about road etiquette and group riding, bike maintenance, equipment, hydration, and nutrition. Most importantly, it got me comfortable on my new bike.

So I got my padded shorts, and my cleats, and hit the road - never to look back!

In February, with our new cycling knowledge and our new cycling jerseys that they gave us in our class, Lisa and I did the Tour de Palm Springs together. It was SO fun, and an absolutely beautiful day!

We did the 25 mile course and were both surprised at how easy it was! Amazing how easy a good bike makes it. Piece of cake. As soon as we rode through the finish line we looked at each other and both said "Next year, 55 miles, definitely."

Since then I have just been riding more and more. Lisa and I have a standing date to ride together every Wednesday morning. We have so much fun together! We like to ride up in the La Quinta cove, up to the top. I love the burn of pushing uphill, and then the reward of getting to ride downhill at top speeds! It takes 20 or so minutes to get up to the top and only 4 minutes to get back down. Then we ride past the beautiful country clubs and just enjoy this lovely desert.

I am so glad Lisa is doing this with me. We can surf together in the summer and ride together in the winter. She is awesome! I love her philosophy about age and athleticism - not to be afraid and get out there and use your body while it still pretty much does what you want it to do. You can read all about it here. I am amazed what this old body of mine can do when I push it a bit! I plan to be in better shape when I turn 40 than I was at 30.

I find myself riding more and more, and going further and faster. I am also getting more comfortable going out on my own, though I always prefer riding with someone else. When the weather is nice I just want to hop on my bike and go! Go anywhere! Pedal power!

I love it! I love going wherever I feel like on my own power. For some reason, riding a bike around town is so very different from driving a car around town, like I do all day, everyday. Driving is a drudgery for me. If I could ride a bike everywhere I would, only most of my driving involves picking and dropping off kids, and I can't do that on my bike. Darn.

Things are just different when you are on a bike. You are right there in the middle of it all, rather than separated from it all, alone in your car. I love to feel the wind on my face and to smell the fragrant patches as I ride past all the flowers and citrus blossoms. I love being outdoors when the weather is so nice, and can't imagine why anyone would want to be stuck in a gym on a spin bike when they could be out enjoying this!

I find that I ride like I swim - I like to get a good strong pace and just go and go. Push. Get that momentum going and keep it going. I am NOT a sprinter. I'd rather have a few long rests than a bunch of short ones. All the open roads out here lend themselves to this nicely, though I am appreciative of a well-timed red light now and then. And I have to admit, the view from my bike is much nicer than looking at the bottom of a pool!

Today I rode all the way up Jefferson through PGA West and back. It took me an hour. It was a great ride and a beautiful day. Yesterday I decided to ride to Dennis' office just to surprise him. On my ride, the odometer on my bike hit 300 miles! I am racking up the miles fast, but I'm sure that will come to a halt when the heat comes. For now, however, I am going to put as many miles on that bike of mine as I can.

Got a bike? Join me!