Beating the storm

One of the first things I do each morning after pouring my first cup of coffee is click the weather page link on my cell phone. Today the red "warning" bar was at the top of the page -- a wind warning for afternoon winds of 60-90 km/hour. Also in the forecast were rain and a thunderstorm. Ideal cycling conditions? Not! So I left the house at about 8:00 to ride before the storm hit.

It was warm and sunny, perfect for riding. I did the GODOY ride, up to the top of the hills and down again. This time I tried to concentrate on keeping my cadence high -- I don't have a computer yet, so I don't know numbers, but I could see my short little legs spinning in the shadow beside my bike, and they were spinning, oh yeah. 

It was a busy day on the road -- a woman running, another woman pushing a stroller, a couple of other cyclists -- and more deer. This time I stopped to take a proper photo. There were three of them. This one stood watching me for awhile before running over to the others, and then they all took off flying.

The last couple of days, I've also seen two people riding mountain bikes. These are the first mountain bikes I've seen since I started my rides; all the other cyclists have been on road bikes. I know I'm probably fooling myself, but I'd like to think that maybe I inspired these people to ride. Until this week I, too, was using a mountain bike. I even used my winter bike, with its fat knobby tires, a couple of times. I always felt a bit odd when I saw riders glide past on their super-light road bikes and wondered if they were snickering at me, but I didn't really care. Cycling should be fun, and I was having fun -- and getting a good workout cranking out the kilometers on my heavy tank of a bike. So, it made me happy to see others out there riding for enjoyment, regardless of the kind of bike.

And here is something that makes me wonder... what is this driveway like in the winter? A couple of days ago I saw a kid get off the school bus and walk up the hill to his house. Good bit of exercise, no doubt. But, imagine driving up or down when it is covered with snow and ice. Imagine clearing the snow!

And one final bit of news -- after I returned from my 30 km ride, Hubby suggested I head over to our local bike shop and get clipless pedals installed. The same night I bought my new bike, we stopped at Value Village and I found a brand-new pair of Specialized brand cycling shoes in my size for about $10.00! It was too good a deal to pass up, so I bought them. But I didn't have the right pedals. So, I went to the bike shop.

ME: Do you have the dual pedals that can be used with or without cycling shoes? (I show him my shoes and tell him I haven't tried them yet.)

BIKE SHOP GUY: No, we don't carry those anymore.

ME: (hesitantly) So, I have to commit, I guess.

BIKE SHOP GUY: It's the right thing to do. Once you've tried it, you'll never go back.

ME: OK, I'll do it.

He was super nice and attached the new pedals for me, put the cleats on the shoes and gave me a free lesson in riding with them. It wasn't hard and I rode home without any incidents. Famous last words, right? He did warn me that everyone falls at one time or another, and of course it's usually at a red light when there's lots of traffic. I had to stop a few times on my way home and I clicked the shoes on and off just fine, but as they say, there's a first time for everything...