Biking again

On Friday I did the "Christa challenge." What is this, you ask? Well, Christa (from WCV) had her baby one week after Conor and posted on the Breathe site about going for a bike ride. So I thought, if she can do it, I can do it, too, and challenged myself to do so.

I bought my bike about 13 years ago. It was very cool then. Now it's looking kind of shabby. See, I haven't ridden it for a long, long time. After I hurt my neck 5 years ago I found I got a migraine every time I tried. But my neck has improved a lot, and now that I am trying to do more exercise it seemed like a good time to try again. So one day when I had a moment I pumped up the tires so it would be ready to go at a moment's notice.

Got the kids in bed a bit early on Friday. Went out. Let me take you into my mind:

Okay, here's the bike, here's the key. Dang, wish it wasn't so dark in here [something's wrong with the electricity in the garage - no lights]. I used to be able to unlock this in the dark. [fiddle, fiddle]. There it goes. Okay, where's my helmet? [peers around, finds helmet]. How the heck do I put this on? What a weird clasp. There, that's it. Does the back flashing light still work? [click *blip*, click *blip*] Tiny bit of power. Just needs new batteries. Won't bother today until I know if this still bugs my neck. Man, those handle bar covers are toast! [wheels bike out door, gets on, peddle peddle]

Whoa!!!! That front brake doesn't work. Back one seems okay, though. I can ride with just a back one. [peddle] Oh, that's right, I had those toe-thingies. Gotta flip them up. Hmmm - seat's kind of low [stop, adjust seat height]. There. [gets back on bike]

AAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH! [almost falls]

What just happened? What the heck just happened? The wheel didn't go the same direction as the handlebars. Is something loose? Looks okay. Oh, no it's not. It's totally loose. I think we bought some alan keys... [push bike to house, open door]

Oh, no, Conor's crying. Should I just stop and go to him? He was just fed. No, Conor has got to get used to Rob comforting him and vice versa. Alan keys, alan keys...nope, not this box, nope, not this one either, nope...hey, maybe the tool box. Tools in a tool box, what a novel concept. Yep, here they are. [back to bike, tighten handlebar, get on, peddle]

Okay, this is going good. Toe thingies up. Kind of feels too easy. Oh, yeah, I have gears! I wonder how many I have. 12? How do these things work? [click, click, click] Small buttons easier, large buttons harder? Or small buttons smaller gears? Is it the same on the front? [click, click, click] Whoa - I have 3 gears on the front? Cool! Must be at least an 18 speed then. [I proceed, peddling and clicking, to KP].

This is darker than I thought. Hmmm. Wish I had the back flashing thing. What if someone runs into me? Need to change gears [click click]

Oh #$%&*! The chain came off. [gets off bike and fiddles with chain]. How long before a mugger comes along? How did I used to put this on? [fiddle fiddle]. Oh, yeah, going backwards. There! Now I remember - it can't be on the far right at one end and the far left at the other. [peddle, peddle] I wonder how long I've been gone. 15 minutes! I told Rob I'd be out about 20! [peddle, click, click] Not again! Dang chain! [fiddle, fiddle]. Gotta got home. It's way too dark now. [riding for a while]. Y'know, I can hardly see the road. If I hit a little pothole I'll probably wipe out. I used to feel so sure on a bike. Now I'm so cautious. Almost home. How's my neck? A little stiff, probably it will be okay. 20 minutes might be my limit.

Into garage. Lock it up. Home again. Aaah, silence. Conor must be either happy or asleep. [proceeds to bathroom, sees mirror] What the......?!?! How did I get black marks all over my forehead? The pads must be disintegrating on my helmet. I look like Groucho Marx.

Well, I'm sweaty, I'm a bit sore, and I look like #$%&*. But I did it.