Old Bike, New Ride

Today was a momentous day. When I first bought my bike 2 years ago, I told the salesman that I was interested in losing weight and commuting to work. So he suggested something that was marketed as a 'fitness hybrid'. These bikes are basically flat bar road bikes, with mountain bike components. Great for fitness and commuting, but only for about 20 miles at a time. Beyond that distance, the bike is not very comfortable or even efficient. Because I have completed my first mission with my bike (losing over 50 pounds) I was ready for the longer rides in order to burn more fat and participate in some of the great events we have in this area. Ergo, the new horse in the stable as mentioned below.

But there was still my second objective; to ride my bike to work. Since the older bike is geared low enough to climb a tree, has space to install a rack and panniers, it was the natural choice for this duty. But there was one more hurdle to deal with; my reluctance to ride my bike in traffic. Well, I started having lunch with a few like minded cyclists. Half of them regularly commute by bike, and one has been talking about driving to work and riding his bike home. One of the guys at the table was Chuck Smith. Chuck happens to be the chairman of the Ohio Bicycle Foundation and a cycling advocate that has helped write or has been consulted for many of the recent cycling laws and movements here in Ohio. He's also been riding his bike to work for the last 20 years or so, no matter where he was living.

Chuck and his teaching partner Dan are also League of American Bicyclists certified instructors and they conducted a Road Riding Course which I attended. This course was designed to teach us the appropriate cycling laws, and theory, but then also back it up with actual riding through the city of Dayton, on the road, with the traffic. I took this class in the fall, right at the end of the riding season. Well, now that we are just starting the cycling season of '09. I was taking baby steps. First, buy the bike and talk about riding to work. Next, make friends that do it so I can get some inspiration as well as on the road knowledge. Then take a class to build some confidence. Finally, secure a bike locker so my bike wouldn't have to mingle with the riff raff at the wheel bender rack. A well trained brain sees these things as the stall tactics they actually are. But today, no more excuses.

I pre-rode the route last weekend so I knew the road surface, so there would be no surprises in the dark, and also to make sure I knew exactly where I was going. Then I set the day. Thursday. Thursday is the day I will ride to work. Today, was that Thursday. I woke up a little early and saw that the temperature was just slightly above freezing. So it took me a little extra time to put on a fleece layer under my regular cycling clothes, then do my typical OCD routine of triple checking everything to make sure I had all my poop in a group and was ready to take off. I managed to leave the house a little later than I wanted to, but it was OK. The traffic at 5:15 is almost non-existent in our little suburb. So I navigated the streets, and managed to not get lost. I quickly realized that hills on the real road are much steeper than what I thought were hills on the bike trail. Combine that with my extra warm clothing, cold air, asthma and restricted breathing passages, and the wind didn't come as well as I would have liked, but I managed to exit the city limits and into the inky darkness of the countryside sans moon or street light.

Even with what I thought was a powerful light, the predawn was barely illuminated. I did manage to hit a pothole or something, but beyond that, no incidents. Even the insanely steep decline, where I was over 30 MPH did not give me any pavement induced surprises. Things seemed great...until I climbed the hill that lead to the turn that took me across the dam. I puffed my way up the hill (not seeing any Care Bears hiding in the shadows) and turned onto the path across the dam. My light just barely showed me the wooden gate that blocked the path. It also just barely showed me where the sidewalk that leads around the gate is located. So after nearly flipping over a barricade, and doing some quick fear laced, adrenaline fueled, clumsy bike handling, I was able to get across the dam, and to work without further incident. I was half expecting to find a similar baricade on the other end, but it happened to be open. Someone should put reflectors on those things.

I happened to get to work just about the same time as I did when I drove. However, I needed to do something to remove the funk that surely emanated from me. The night before, I had mixed up some homemade Rocket Shower. Turns out it worked great! I changed in the bathroom stall, sprayed myself with my cleansing elixir and put on my work clothes. The stuff even worked fairly well on my hair. It gave it a different look, but one that was appreciated by the superficial members of my office. All told, I was in my chair and working only a few minutes later than I normally was.

So what was it like? Amazing! I saw my first sunrise in years. I felt a thrill that carried me through the whole day to the point I wanted to leave early, just to experience the same ride again. And that ride, the ride home with the sunlight and more traffic was a little hectic, but not bad. I only had one problem and that was at a stop light that tuned at the exact same moment that I unclipped and dismounted forcing me to quickly fumble around getting started, inadvertently unclipping my other foot, all the while traffic was waiting behind me. Once I was moving again, the rest of the ride was fine. The sun was hot, but the air was cold. It was really weird. If I unzipped my jacket, I was cold. Zipped it up and I was hot again. Nothing was comfortable.

Bottom line: Yes. I will do it again. Maybe next Thursday since that seems to be one of the two best days for me to commute due to obligations on those days. So, I offer up a thank you to Chuck, Jeff, the Bills, and Dan who encouraged me and trained me how to experience this sweet, yet simple pleasure, even if you didn't know you were doing it. Cycling is fun for me, but riding to work added a whole new dimension. Give it a try. You might be surprised at what you experience.