My New Bike

I finally picked up my new bike on Friday. It is a women's Specialized Dolce road bike. It is their entry level road bike...nothing too fancy...but expensive enough that I feel like it is respectable. It's more then sufficient for me at this point considering I've yet to do anything to warrant the purchase. I road it around a little in the dark on Friday night getting used to the clip in pedals. Saturday morning was beautiful so I headed out for my first official ride. I didn't really have any lofty goals in terms of distance. I was hoping and praying that what they say about never forgetting how to ride a bike is true.

My ride started off with a huge hill...downhill! I expected the descent to be fun, and it is was in a sort of I-think-I'm-going-to-be-sick-and-vomit-kind-of-way. I ordered a GPS that will track my speed and heart rate, but for this ride I was left to guess...I know my heart rate was way too high and I guess my speed near 25-30mph since I was pacing a few cars. I was flying down the hill as my mind was flooded with a myriad of thoughts I probably never had 25 years ago on a bike such as how expensive orthodontists are, how scary gravel can be, how I fear and loath metal drainage grates etc.

Once the road leveled out and my speed decreased I began to think about the ride home and whether or not I would ever make it back up the hill. I decided to ignore the thought and focus on the wind in my face, the beautiful trees blooming, the lightness of my bike, and the soreness of my butt. Is it odd to say that I truly love and hate biking all at the same time? Okay, maybe hate is too strong of a word...there are aspects of it that I don't appreciate, but overall I find it enjoyable and confess that I had the thought that I can understand the appeal of a motorcycle...doesn't mean I would ever support my husband having one, but deep inside I think it would be fun to feel the wind in my face, then I think of the bugs and bad weather and my body being thrown like a rag doll and erase the thought.

So I digress, but none the less I thought I would post a picture of my bike. Eventually you'll see some pictures of it in use as I start my various sprint triathlons and not just in the garage holding up a cabinet. Oh, and by the way, by the time I headed home I was feeling confident enough and familiar enough with my gears that I made it up the huge hill without any problems. Slow, but without problems.