I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike.
July 1st, 2011
I mentioned that I was training for a triathlon, remember? (see “March”) Well, Baby Cuatro put a damper on the tri, for 2011 anyway. Him or her and the brutal Texas heat we’ve been having this summer. However I’ve been riding bikes once a week with some die-hard [race] bikers. So far we’ve been doing between 14-20 miles each week. Today we did 20.8 miles and I increased my speed by 2.2 miles this week over the last time I rode, which was about a month ago, actually, because of VBS and going out of town.
These ladies I’ve been riding with have been so kind as to let me borrow a racing bike and all the equipment I need for having a super great ride. Like the gloves I never knew I’d need but am so grateful to use. I am so glad to ride with them and that they give me all the techniques and terms and expertise that I need to “race” properly. I’ve even talked one of the ladies into doing a triathlon with me next year, since I already registered and paid for my tri that would have been at the end of July. The ladies I ride with do the MS150 race each year, which benefits Multiple Sclerosis and covers the distance between Houston and Austin. They think that I’ll be able to do that race in April of next year. (I don’t think so.)
This morning we started riding at 8:15 and finished at 10:15. At 10:40 I went to the grocery store and when we were done at the grocery store at 11:40, my car thermometer read 106. ONE HUNDRED SIX DEGREES. FAHRENHEIT. Next week we’re starting even earlier in the day – at 7:30, I’m thinking.
I might have ventured into a new hobby. I might be asking for padded bike shorts for my birthday. I might also be buying a very expensive racing bike to support said hobby. But I don’t think Kevin can complain too much about a hobby that burns almost 500 calories an hour.
4 Comments Add your own
1. Darlys | July 2nd, 2011 at 7:56 am
We love biking too. I only do the cycling class (stationary) these days, but we did the MS 150 last year and some smaller rides. It’s really fun. I resisted the padded bike shorts for a while, then once I started using them, I couldn’t believe the difference. Well worth it. And lots of times you can find bikes on Craigslist for around $300-400. Women’s entry level road bikes are like $750 new…and that’s the very basic ones with not so spectacular gears, etc (but good enough for a just-for-fun rider like me).
2. Becia | July 2nd, 2011 at 8:39 am
My siblings and I are veteran race bikers. We used to do the “Hotter Than Hell 100″ in our hometown of Wichita Falls, TX before we moved down to Bryan, where we all lost hope of doing any more races. My sister I think was the most die-hard into it, and it wasn’t until about a couple years ago we actually lost the bike frames that she and my brother used to use (which were passed down to me and used for a while, but I got out of it when I started having knee surgeries). It’s really fun and something I wish I could get back into (and I got great weather for doing it up here in Ohio!), but time and finances aren’t on my side just yet.
I say give it a shot!
3. Belle | July 3rd, 2011 at 4:37 pm
How does baby like riding?
4. greg | July 7th, 2011 at 9:00 am
my parents did the ms150 every year when I was a kid, if they can do it you can do it, the didn’t train that much that I remember. That and they are old… oh crap I am now as old as they were when they did those rides … yikes
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