Saturday, March 28, 2009

I Picked Up My Real Bike ... and Went to the Gym?

This morning Drew and I went to go pick up my bicycle. We did look at the bike shoes and it looks like it would definitely be a good investment (as a side note for future reference, the Specialized shoes fit best), but I think I need to just get used to riding my bike in general before I add anything else into the mix.

After we picked up the bike, we went to the gym and I a 5 minute warm-up on the spinning bike before doing some weight lifting. I did leg presses, seated row, hamstrings and lat pull downs. I then went back to the spinning room and did another 25 minutes on the bike. I should have done a run today, but since my heel still isn't feeling better, I decided to skip the run. I finished up with stretching and crunches and then headed home.

Since the weather held and there was no rain today, I went for a short bike ride just to test out my new wheels. I only went 5.4 miles today on the real bike. I could have ridden for longer, but I didn't want to be gone from home for too long (Drew was making pizza for lunch) so I only was gone for about 40 minutes. I practiced shifting gears, although I'm definitely going to need some more practice on that. I did really well when going uphill, but need to work on the downhill shifting, as I really like to just coast. I think that this bike is going to be great and I can't wait to ride it a lot more.

Things I learned today:
* I need a vest/shirt with a back pocket
* It is really hard to set the bike computer (although after getting only mildly frustrated, I did it!)
* My helmet clip rubs against my left ear the wrong way
* I don't love riding in traffic - especially Columbus Circle - I have no idea how to navigate that
* I have a paranoia about getting a flat tire and need to learn how to change/patch a flat
* I wish that there was 2-way traffic on the road in the park so that I could go north and come back home (and avoid the Harlem hills!)

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