Day 41: Fell in love with Cycling & the Power of the Team!Be courageous!
Getting up at 3:30 am for my first bike ride at 5 was not a problem. I packed my shoes, knee pads, and two waters, and had some difficulty getting my bike on the rack. It was getting late and was glad to be able to fit the bike in the back seat. The roads were empty and I got to home base at 5.
Other cyclists were getting ready too and I let them know that it was my first ride. They shared stories about how they fell the first couple of times which seems to be the norm. Our coach helped me put air in the tires and went over some fundamentals. He asked if I brought my shoes and I realized that in my haste to bring the protective gear I left my gym bag with my shoes at home. One of my teammates had an extra pair so I was able to ride. It's interesting the things we put in our way.
Circling around a bit to practice clicking in and out of the clips, I struggled getting out of my left side, leaned my weight over and fell in front of everyone. I wasn't hurt and was relieved to get that part over with. Teammates offered bottles of water and we hit the road.
Our coach took me out on the road before the rest of the group to get me acclimated. The service road of the expressway is hilly and I learned a lot about slowing up for lights so I didn't have to unclip, changing gears while pedaling, and what gears to use when going uphill and down. The team caught up with us and the coach was pushing me to pedal faster but at 6 miles out I was tired and decided to ride the 6 miles back. That's good mileage for a first ride.
Two of my teammates escorted me back and I had the opportunity to gauge for myself what gears to use. At a light, I clicked out and clicked back in to get started, and fell in love. It was working and it felt great. I even stood up out of the saddle while pedaling uphill and held my balance. It got scary at one light at the bottom of a hill. I was going fast, lightly braking and uncertain if I would be able to stop. Panic set in and it worked out fine. It reminded me of skiing in the beginning. We got back to the house and it was a great first ride. My escorts thought I was very brave and would never have done what I did.
I am proud of taking a chance that paid off. I appreciated the help and support of my teammates.