I Heart My Bike!

I love, love, love my road bike!

My bike was my big birthday present from my parents back in March, but since we had such a long, cold winter up here...we opted to keep it down in Miami, so I could ride with my mom one more time  when I came to visit for a friend's wedding and Mother's Day, before shipping the bike up to me.  It took a few weeks for it all to come together, but I was finally able to ride it Memorial Day weekend.

Mine is the black and white bike in the front!

You might recall, that my first few rides in Miami were a bit on the shaky side. My second ride did go better than the first, but I was definitely was no Lance Armstrong-in-the-making.  

Lucky enough for me -  I found an amazing bike club near me, the Sound Cyclists. The club is basically a large group of cyclists from all around Fairfield County.  Thy host rides at all distances, at all paces, seven days a week. For the slower rides, a "sweeper" is also appointed - basically a second person who rides in the back and makes sure no rider is left behind.

Literally less than 24 hours after I picked my bike up from the shop, the club was holding the first skills clinic, with a focus on how to properly use your gears. It was *exactly* what I needed, since I had no idea what I was doing.  We broke down into our pace groups, and then got a quick lecture from our ride leader, Shauna. We were then off to do a short ride around the area.  I was pretty clueless at first about my gears (I'm used to my childhood bike that actually had numbers on the handle bars!), but with Shauna's help and never-ending patience, I totally got the hang of it by the end of the ride, and felt ready to meet the club for another ride.

Since the clinic, I have ridden twice more - 20 miles last Thursday, and another 22 on Saturday. Thursday's ride was a (relatively) flat ride, but Saturday was a bit hillier. Sure, dragging the bike up those hills is not easy (I actually think it may be harder than running up the hills), but overall it's hard to believe the bike is a workout, because it's just so much fun, especially flying on the downhills.  I hope to be able to move up a pace group or two by the end of the season, but I really don't want to rush it....even under the watchful eyes of our trusty ride leaders, I'm still a bit nervous about falling!

My second ride we stopped by the beach in Darien..so pretty

But as much fun as I'm having with the bike, have no fear - I'm still logging those miles on my feet, too. After all,  I did commit to this little race called the New York City Marathon.

Lots of miles, lots of shoes!

PS - Don't forget about the giveaway going on! Temperatures are soaring...an extra water bottle is always handy.