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Bike Ride

(photo from PhotoXpress)
My cold seems to be over...not so bad. On Wednesday I pulled a bicycle out of the shed and took it to the bike shop to get air in the tires. Thursday, I took it out for a ride--first time on a bicycle in at least twenty years. You know how they say that you never forget how to ride a bike though.


I had a bike as a kid, of course. As an adult, I got a ten speed bike for one of the 30's birthdays from my first husband. We did some riding with the kids and all, but I never really did get the hang of shifting the gears. The bike pretty much stayed in third gear. When I tried to change a gear, as often as not, the chain would fall off. Being able to change gears is actually a very desirable feature when riding in Vermont--the Green MOUNTAIN State. I spent enough time pushing that bike up big hills that I finally figured I should walk and leave the bike at home.


The bike here has maybe twenty-one speeds and it's actually easy to shift, but now I realize I don't really understand enough physics to appreciate the subtleties of all those gear ratios. It's flat here so it doesn't really matter that much anyway.


And it's true--you don't forget how to ride in terms of the very basics--balance and pedal. What you do forget about is how riding a bike uses completely different areas of muscles than walking and it makes your butt pretty darn numb.

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 5, 2010 at 8:28 PM

    About a month ago My Grand Girl wanted me to go on a bike ride with her...It had been years since I had been on one...I am so fat I could not throw my leg over the seat.....I had to lay the bike down and stand across it and then sit it up....It was just as bad as I remember it being years ago...When I stopped I was able to get off of it fine, I just could not get on it....Maybe it was a mental thing...

    ReplyDelete
  2. LindaFebruary 5, 2010 at 8:51 PM

    No one ever loved their childhood bicycle more than me. I had a little dog that rode in with me everywhere in the bicycle basket. There is no flat space around me now so riding a bike now would be tough. That was the only bicycle I ever owned so riding one with 'speeds' would probably be beyond my comprehension. Every child should have a bicycle.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arkansas PattiFebruary 6, 2010 at 7:05 AM

    Aw, I miss riding a bike so much. I rode all the time in Florida, nice flat roads but here in the Ozarks, like you were in Vermont, walking is the only way. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

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