I Got My Shoes so No More Excuses - It's Time to Ride

1:24 PM Posted by jo

I am so excited because I finally received my new bicycle shoes. I have decided to step it up some and start riding more seriously. I am not sure if I will be ready for any races this season, but I am racing next year for sure. This the first time I will be riding with real bicycle shoes and I find it a little bit intimidating, but I will learn how to ride with my feet clipped in. My husband is a bicycle coach and he will coach me. Yes, we actually do get along and we don't mind being around each other all the time. We even survived when he taught me how to drive in the busy San Francisco area many years ago. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I am supposed to ride my first 10 miles today when he comes home. He says it is an easy ride but I am not convinced yet, it is easy for him to say since he just rode 70 miles yesterday.

I am by far no stranger to bicycle riding at all. I have been riding with the family but not as much as I used to. I used to ride several miles to the grocery store and do my shopping back home in Sweden. I used to load up 5-6 grocery bags on the handle bars and ride home. I am sure it would look quite interesting to an American, but you'll get creative when gas is about 8-10 dollars a gallon. We use bicycles as transportation and I miss that part from Europe. US is not set up the same way with bicycle stands outside stores and public buildings and nice bike lanes to ride on like most or many European cities.

This is my bicycle now. It is my husband's old bicycle that he is handing down to me, and yes it fits me. (My husband has short legs. Whoops, I didn't say that) He bought an indoor trainer last year so that he could keep up riding while he was working and commuting 60 hours per week. I like being outdoors and I have never been much of a treadmill kind of gal, but we don't have any decent roads to ride on due to construction right now, so I'll rather ride indoors until the roads are better. We are also experiencing temperatures in the high 90's and it is hard to exercise in hot weather.

Oh, do you see my compressed wood formaldehyde shelf behind the bike? We bought the shelf before we knew any better many, many years ago. I doubt there are any more fumes being evaporated after so many years. This is our office and we don't spend much time in here. Stay away from compressed wood!

As you can see in the picture above, the bike will not fall when clumsy me is trying to learn how to ride with my feet stuck to the pedals. It will be the hardest to get used to, that the feet are stuck on the pedals. So it is reassuring that I will not fall down with the bike on top of me. Oh yeah, the saddle is not that comfortable, perhaps I can convince my coach that I can put a small pillow on it to make it more comfortable. (Yeah right!)

Oh, this is fun! It is called a Computrainer and you can set up different courses that you want to ride. My husband is training for the Race Across Oregon this summer so he has programmed the route he will ride. He can set up the right elevation so that he gets to train climbing as well. I tried it once already and it is a lot of fun. It is like a video game but you have to do a lot of hard work.

You're supposed to beat the silver guy but it is impossible. With this trainer you can adjust how you want the ride to be. I just hope the coach will go easy on me:-) I'll better make him a great dinner tonight.

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Johanna is an aromatherapist and an independent distributor of Young Living Essential Oils and Nature's Sunshine. She is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives. She also runs Naturally Sports & Wellness together with her husband.
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