Knowing the weather would cooperate, I figured I should try to be a little more active and ride my bike to work. It is a reasonable distance, and I had access to The Girl's bike. The Boy and Genius Golfer actually pulled it out of the shed and lubed it up for me so I could make the attempt.
Tuesday last week, I strapped on the helmet--only fair since I make the kids wear theirs if they were ever on their bikes--and loaded my lunch into my messenger bag. I wrestled that on my back and head out.
I've never had a bike with gears before. In fact, my last bike had a banana seat and curvy handle bars. When that bike was new, Little House of the Prairie was still in TV--without reruns.
I made it 6 blocks in about 10 minutes. I fought the gears, the incline and my own flabby, out of shape body. And the mortification that I was thoroughly exhausted in that short of a time. I thought I might actually see my thighs burst into flames. I headed home, parked the bike and jumped in the Durango and headed off to work.
Embarrassed? Absolutely. Determined to work up to riding it to work? Not so much.
I'd like to ride for fun, in the afternoon after work, maybe up on the canal trail in our town where it is flat. But that will have to wait until the weather lulls me into a false sense of my own abilities again. Who knows how long that will take!
