Life is like riding a bicycle.

Two weeks ago my roommate and I took the opportunity to hit up some yard sales around us. The first place we stopped had a bike. I've been itching to get a bike because J, said roommate, used to ride a lot so then I'd actually have someone to get some exercise in with. The bike seemed like it should actually be small enough for me and it was $30. Sweet deal.

*Side note: I also got 2 CD's elsewhere for $1. I'm hooked on yard sales. Last weekend I found a medium size tent (which will go well with my big and small tents) for $10, a CD for $1, and a game for $.05. Now I've got to kick myself for spending all this money on things I don't need. But it's so cheap it's too tempting.*

Being as the tires were both flat it wasn’t quite in ride-able condition but off to the bike shop it went and returned this Monday in working order. The excitement was too much and I had to try riding it.

It was scary.

Inevitably the bike is still a bit big for me. I had lowered the seat past where it was supposed to be positioned already but still could barely get my toe on the ground. Plus it’s a real street bike with tiny tires so the balance was a bit iffy.

And yet at the same time it was incredibly freeing. It’s so much easier and faster than running. I liked it.

Back in the garage I lowered the seat literally into the cross bar. And it was decided that J and I would go for a ride on Tuesday.

Now people have this bad habit of thinking that I am in shape. It stems from the fact that I am tiny and thin. However the reality is that my appearance is mostly owing to the fact that I don’t like to eat much. Given I’m not horribly out of shape. I’ve always been able to hold my own at sports like activities, but my endurance really isn’t that great. So I was a bit iffy about how I’d do at this whole ride thing. That and I was still afraid of falling off.

Tuesday came and it was all rainy and generally crappy weather, nuts. But miraculously it cleared up by evening and was literally sunny. We ventured outside.

Amusingly enough as we were headed out the neighbor on the end, a later middle aged divorcee with two cats whom J watches when she’s away, came out to talk to us, or well more accurately J. Apparently she has a bike and wanted to know how intense we were. I said I was a complete beginner and would give her the real scoop. And as we pulled out the in-between neighbor, earlier middle aged single, was returning with her dog. Neighbor 1 was heard to say “P do you have a bike?” It’s possible we shall be having end of the development almost all single, I’m the exception go figure, female, intergenerational bike riding. Go figure.

So finally off we went. We happen to live just a mile from the trail head to a city ‘greenbelt.’ And it really was awesome. Since I’ve lived here I’ve not appreciated the constant house and developed ness everywhere. So this trail was really an amazing find with its lush greengage and seemingly not in any kind of city-ness. Plus, most likely because of the earlier rain and the coolness of the evening we were practically the only people on the whole trail.

Physically I couldn’t believe it went so well. I did end up walking up 3 hills, but other than that it was fine. After a bit I’d reclaimed my bike balance and it was all good. I even became somewhat adept at shifting gears.

In under an hour we went 9.6 miles! It really did feel so good and free.

I’m excited to go out again now. The whole loop of the greenbelt is 20 miles so really I think I could be there quite soon.

It’d be nice if my butt could recover first however.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”