The Bike

So let’s talk about biking… most people I have a lot of brass and will do just about anything. They also know that I’m sort of a control freak. Not in a bad way but like on the bike, if I don’t feel like I have complete control of what I’m doing then I struggle. I don’t care about situations or people or whatever most control freaks want control of. Mine is about what I’m doing. I was the kid who if I couldn’t do something well the first time I did it I would not do it. Or if I thought I wasn’t as good as other people I wouldn’t do it. So as a kid I didn’t “do” a lot of things. My loss…

So now I’m an adult and I don’t care what other people think so I’m doing things. However, I didn’t learn to really ride a bike as a kid. We didn’t really have any and the roads in my neighborhood were more like dot-to-dot patterns of pavement. Oh and the hills to get out of the lake area were horrendous! The roads had no shoulders and often the edge of the road was even eroded away. It just was not a good place to ride. The last time I rode a bike I was 15 (1981). Keep in mind that I lived at an “undeveloped” lake. So we decided to go over to a friend’s house real quick to do or get something. I got on the green 3 speed. Yeah 3! Anyway, it didn’t matter how many speeds it had because you never used them! As we were going past a T-junction a block from the house a car came around the corner way into my lane. I swerved, went into the gravel that has runoff from the edge of the park and lost control of the bike. I was in a string bikini (remember I was 15 and could wear one!) I “supermanned” about 20 ft across the top of the gravel. Nothing major but it looked awful. No skin on my chin, the inside of my arms, my upper chest, belly, thighs and the tops of my feet. All surfaces scratches but it looked bad! School was about to start and by the time I the bike was fixed we were in school. The next summer I was 16 and driving so who needs a bike!

I got back on a bike for the first time (other than trying to teach my kid how to ride one) on April 16. Oops! I crashed it. It was a bad crash. I thought I was ok but the next day I had trouble and they took me to the ER. The doc there said I had a concussion – he used some word to describe it but basically it meant pretty bad. They sent me home and told me not to go back to work for a few days. I have vision trouble still and my speech is mostly normal. I was having trouble will alliteration and sometimes I could think something but could not get the words out of my mouth. It was very frustrating – especially since I teach! I went my doc and he said if I hadn’t had on a helmet I’d be dead. How’s that for a first ride in 27 years!

So here I am, learning to ride a bike. I am even more cautious than before the crash. I was doing ok with the speed and getting into aero. I just needed to learn to work the gears. (Remember, I have never done that!) It was on a hill in aero that I crashed. So now I hyperventilate when I start going fast. I know that I will be ok eventually just not sure how long it’s going to take. I don’t feel like I have control of the bike. Or rather where the front tire goes. So far I’ve been riding upright not in aero. Once in a while I will get in aero but not often. When I have ridden with Koach he will make me do it but I don’t stay there long. Last time I had one hand on the aero bar and one on the brake! The speed scares the bejeezes out of me!

The more I ride the better but the weather hasn’t been very cooperative either. It’s been 30 mph winds or storms since May. Unless it’s a day where I have NO time to ride and then it’s perfect riding weather! Today was the best day we’ve had in a long time. I rode about 45 minutes with traffic but still not in aero. Not being in aero also means I’m working harder than I should because I’m not using the gears they way they are meant. I did shift once today (I think – maybe twice) but that doesn’t really help.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I want to be doing “Ok” by the time I leave for DC at the end of the month. I’ll be gone for 9 days without the bike.