My Life on a Bike--Day One

So, I've been looking into this biking thing. And yesterday, thanks to the lovely Robyn and witty Ken, I got my first chance to ride. And I have to say - it ain't easy!

It may be possible that I just picked the wrong place to start my biking quest because when I returned the bike and told Ken where I'd gone, his eyes got really big and said something like "Oh wow, them there's some hills over yonder, there are!" Okay, so Ken doesn't talk like that, but the senitment was the same.

Still, I can't exactly blame it all on the hills. I'm not quite what you'd call in shape. Yet. Yet. Yet. I may get there, IF I can keep myself from quitting after my first experience.

I tried out both Ken's bike and Robyn's bike. Ken's is a mountain bike, and a man's bike. My first question is: what difference does the sex of the bike make? Is it the seat? I don't see what advantage that straight bar on a man's bike gives anybody. Or is that just to tell the two apart? No matter. These questions will be answered in time.

I am embarrassed by how hard it was just to get out of Ken's neighborhood. The long slow hill was taxing, but after weaving from one side of the road to the other, I eventually made it. Though by the third hill (granted, a steep one), I had to get off and walk up the rest of the way. Even using the word walking is a bit of a misnomer. More like shuffled leaning. I moved like an asthmatic little old lady. (No offense to any little old ladies who might be reading this.)

On a positive note, I've decided I really like the downhill part of biking. And if I could find a place that was all downhill riding, I could really get into this. I would still pedal to get (or pretend to get) some exercise. But it would be fun.

Overall, I'm not sure I could call yesterday's ride fun. I have this fantasy image of what riding a bike should be. Zooming along on well-paved roads with nature singing to me all around, my mind freed from any thoughts but ones of contemplative meditation. Me and God, riding through life together.

Maybe I need to figure out why I really want to learn to ride. Exercise or pleasure? Of course I want both, but is that realistic? I think if I have to pick one, I'd pick pleasure. Which means easy riding is a must. But I do want to be able to check off my workout on the good ole to-do list. Who wants to go running after a bike ride? (Crazy triatholoners like Tracy or the Butlers, that's who.)

I think I don't really like the mountain bike. I tried Robyn's hybrid after I finished using Ken's and enjoyed it much more, but by then I was exhausted and could only ride around in circles in front of their house. Perhaps not the best way to judge the quality of a bike.

Oh, and here's another thing. I hurt in places I didn't expect to hurt. Quads, fine. But my hands and shoulders hurt. What is this about? I felt like all of my weight was on the handlebars. Why is it good to lean forward when biking? When we biked in China last summer, we got to sit up straight and it was delightful! We rode and we sang (ala The Sound of Music) and it was blissful. Why isn't that reality in America?

So, suffice it to say, I've got a long way to go. I've kicked up my investigation and begun talking to cyclists at all levels. One friend assures me I can get a decent bike for under $1,000; another says I can find a good one at a garage sale for $20. One friend says a mountain bike is the only way to go, another says a road bike is so much easier to ride.

My latest search has been for bike rental places around Atlanta. Naturally I checked out the one closest to my house, Bikeways of Tucker. I had to include this photo from their website because it cracked me up. If you have never been to Tucker, you may need a little help with the humor. Tucker looks nothing like this. If it did, trust me, I'd be on a bike faster than you can say zip-a-dee-do-da. (Okay, I realize it takes a bit of time to say zip-a-dee-do-da, thus making it an ineffective point, but it popped out.)

I'll keep y'all posted. As of today, it still remains to be seen whether there will be a Day Two of my cycling adventures.