The skies have opened

This blog is going to be short...just like the amount of riding I have been doing lately. Unfortunately, the skies have opened up on us and I cannot ride even though I really want to. I actually woke up several times last night to hear the rain doing a constant ping, ping, ping on our roof. You would think that someone that moved to Oklahoma from the wet state of Oregon would be used to the sound of rain, but I guess I am not. I have been itching to ride, however, mother nature seems to have a differing opinion. In case you are wondering, I never rode in the rain back home; I didn't have a bike and was not into it that much.

Read more...

The wheels start turning

RIDE ONE:
We were able to find a day where we could all go riding; earlier that week, we had bought a bike trailer so our 3.5 year old rugrat could come with us. Bret was wanting me to set the pace as I am not as comfortable with the thought of cycling as he is; I am also a bit of a wuss and don't go balls-out like he does. We started our trip at the beginning of the local trail. I was still getting used to the gears and what lever, crank, and gear does what. While on our ride, we were about to pass by a field where 3 gorgeous horses were spending their day eating. As a huge horse lover, I stopped to say hi. I think they were a little annoyed that I didn't have any carrots for them; I promised them that next time would be different. There are two parts of the trail that scare the crap out of me: On the trail there are overpasses that have a blind turn and I felt like I was going a little too fast on my bike. I totally thought I was going to crash right into the side of the overpass. I quickly jumped on my brakes so I could slow down and avoid being one with it. That day we made about 8.5 miles. When we got back to our soccer mom-mobile, I was thrilled. I didn't want the cycling to end but I was getting a little sore and realized that I needed to call it a day. Bret was doing well and our son Liam was happy as a clam sitting in his trailer. Since Li did so well, we treated him to tater tots at the local Sonic. Unfortunately, I think we have created a monster; he now always wants to go on the cycling trips just so he can have that oily, fattening bribe.

RIDE TWO:
Our second cycling voyage was a little more eventful -- and shorter -- than the first one. I have been wanting to go riding for days but it was a bit nippy outside. The temperature on the local business's electronic sign read 33 degrees. I thought I could handle it as I was wearing a l/s base layer, a jersey, and my jacket plus my padded briefs and pants. I figured my full fingered gloves would suffice. Bret doesn't have gloves but he thought he would be okay as weather doesn't affect him as much as it would others. Well, we were wrong. Even with my gloves, the weather was eating at my hands and my arthritis was going into overdrive. Bret was freezing too so we decided it was best to head back to the warm, heated comfort of our minivan. Liam didn't get tots this day, instead we got him a mini cheese quesadilla from the local Taco Bueno (probably our favorite fast food joint) as his reward. When we got back home, we did more research on warmer gloves and winter-friendly cycling apparel. I am looking at the Descente wombats (see photo to the right) to help protect me for the next time I decide to be a little crazy and want to ride on days when the outside temperature isn't so forgiving. We also took some photos of us in our gear.

We are using my photo for my roadid.com profile. By the way, I highly recommend all outside sports enthusiasts to get one of these. I can't express this enough and will probably be saying this several times in my blog.

 Liam and his stuffed pig, Hamlet. Li is usually that happy to be in his cycling cart. When he gets a little older, we will be purchasing a bicycle for him. We have noticed that he normally leans towards toddler bikes that are pink, purple, or have sparkly tassels. We will probably meet him in the middle somewhere. He can have the tassels but have more masculine colors.

 The sign behind my husband absolutely cracks me up. It says (upside down) "If you can read this, you need new tires." Bret did NOT need new tires this day. I am not sure why Bret looks so pissed off. The cold may have been affecting him.

Read more...

The Skinny on the Not-So Skinny

Growing up, I really didn't care about riding a bike. I had one that I would ride to school and back but I didn't love doing it. The bike wasn't very comfortable and would really stiffen me up. I would sometimes think that it could be classifed as a potential murder weapon. But, then just this past year, I had one of those DUH moments: The bike should be comfortable!

One of my best and closest friends, George, is an avid roadie and he jumps on his Trek carbon fiber road bikewhenever he can. I think he gets a little twitchy when he cannot ride his bike for awhile. Last year, he and my husband, Bret, were telling me that the bike should be fitted to you and you fitted to the bike. They were explaining that the bike should be comfortable and not cause you any pain. I probably looked like I was a blubbering fool as I didn't know that was even possible. After I noticed what a great time my best friend was having while riding his bike and competing in events such as the Tulsa Tough, I started to get that twitchy feeling. I wanted to get on a bike but I didn't know what kind of bike I wanted. I also wanted to start cycling as I need to lose some more pounds and fat and cycling is some of the best exercise one can do. I wanted to get thin again and have a body that others are jealous of.

Bret and I went to several local bicycle shops so I could get a feel for what the world of cycling had to offer. I quickly learned that I didn't like the drop handle bars. I didn't feel comfortable sitting on the bike and the concept of those type of handles freaked me out. I also did not want mountain bike style of bicycles; my husband, however, is a huge fan of them. To me, that left the comfort style bicycles, hybrids, and flat-bar road bikes. After a lot of internet research on parts and components and of course, the physical research -- the actual sitting and riding -- I finally settled on a flat-bar road bike, a Trek 7.5 FX to be exact. The first time I sat on the bike and then road it around the shop's parking lot, I was in love. After my husband and I paid for our bikes (he ended up purchasing a Gary Fisher Cobia), I started scouting weather reports and then compared those predicted forecasts against my husband's work schedule for that week and then the following week. Unfortunately, we noticed the days that my husband had off were all days that would not constitute good cycling weather.

Read more...