Awfully Wonderful

So I started riding again. I brought my ancient bike in the shop to have it tuned up. I replaced accessories which have been misplaced over the years. How could I lose one glove? Where could I have put that pump? What can I expect having not ridden in almost six years. My gosh, has it really been that long?

I brought the bike home and gave it a bath. It's still in incredible shape. Perhaps the low mileage has something to do with it. My 1989 Trek 7000, a mountain bike set up for road riding, was clean and ready to go. So off I went. I've completed two rides so far, a 30 minute and 45 minute ride, both rather light. Everything felt awkward. Nothing felt smooth. My cadence was off, my legs were weak, my breathing was off, my shifting required retraining, and a plethora of other things. Any onlooker would call it an awful ride. But, It. Was. Wonderful! I thoroughly and completely loved being back on my bike. My second ride was a simple eight miles. I only have to build up to another 92 to prepare for my century in March! "Piece a cake, piece a cake." (As stated by Billy Crystal in Forget Paris)


My official training, based on Marla Streb's Century Training Program, will begin in early November. So I have until then to plug fun miles and get comfortable on the bike again. Eventually I'll need to do some group rides to get used to riding in a pack. Those around me in March will be glad I do this prior to the event. I found out the hard way what its like to knock over a fellow rider. (He actually left this incident out of his post. Maybe he forgot? Maybe because it happened while training instead of "the ride"? Maybe grace?)

Finally, please encourage me to NOT listen to those that are telling me that I need a road bike as opposed to my road-ready mountain bike for the century. I went looking yesterday. When did bikes get so expensive? I think the bike I did the San Francisco to Los Angeles ride on cost around $200. Sure it was almost 20 years ago, but still. The bike I was looking at yesterday (which is considered a mid-range bike) was $1499. WHAT??? Julianne suggested that I get a sponsor. She said maybe Subway will sponsor me if I say I've been eating their sandwiches as part of my weight loss program. Not a bad idea. Cause there's no way I can justify spending that kind of money. Not when I have a bike. Maybe I'll start saving. Now there's an idea.