Riding With Others

I have become very used to riding alone and in some ways, it is nice, but there is something to be said for having a riding partner.

My friend Rick made the two-hour ride on Saturday, from St. Petersburg to where I live. He is an avid bike rider who has much more riding experience than I do, but he is not a pro cyclist, he is just a regular guy who enjoys using his bike for transportation. Since that is what I do, I can always count on some good real-world advice on subjects like carrying groceries and avoiding traffic. He even motivated me to get myself better prepared for a flat tire, which I know is coming. I have procrastinated but I need to buy better tools and I should probably replace the tubes at home so I can practice.

Anyway, we took a casual ride down to the park and along the water. It was nice having someone along that I can talk to. I look forward to the cooler weather when I can spend time riding with my wife, Rose.

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Trial Run

I went out this morning for my first real bike ride. Before my first ten-mile ride to work on Monday, I wanted to get used to the bike and see what I could handle. After the first mile, I almost changed my mind about starting on Monday. My legs were tired already and it seemed I was in way worse shape than expected.

I put the bike in a lower gear and pushed on a little slower. After that I felt better and the rest of the ride was much easier. The best part is, after raising my wimpyness rating, I was able to lower it back down again.

I wanted to stay close to home because of the weather so I rode around the industrial park near my home for about 45 minutes. The last 20 minutes I rode in a light rain, which actually felt good, but the rain picked up and I decided to head home.

My newly installed odometer said I went 6.5 miles but I am not yet convinced that is accurate. I think I will Google Map the trip to work and compare the distance when I go there.

Now I just need to buy reflectors, which are surprising hard to find, spare tubes, and then track down a clicking noise.