Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

The Historian wrote:

Meanwhile, I can't decide if I should be happy, or consider myself insane.
I'm gonna be 41 next month, for goodness sake!

It is never, ever too late.

Until you're dead, of course.

Which you aren't. So ride your bike and have fun.

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

Beverly wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Beverly wrote:
The Historian wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Nice choice. I happen to be a real Trek fan. Did you get the
silver/black
or green?

Silver and black. Black is a slimming color, and silver matches my
hair....unfortunately.

One of mine is black and silver. The other is called carbon black. I like
them because they don't clash with my bold colored biking clothes :) :)

Perhaps I was fortunate that Bikesport didn't have anything in my
extended sizes. I did buy really outrageous cycling socks. They'll
shock anyone who knows the staid, conservative, bookish, classical
music listening chess historian. It's a small step at rebellion. :-)

My one concern is that I will become discouraged at the learning curve.
I didn't ride long as a child. I was too busy building my future as a
FFID to do such things as bike. So please don't say "it's just like
riding a bicycle....", because for some of us it's not, because we
never learned in the first place. Keeping balanced is going to be my
first, and perhaps greatest, challenge.

Neil
385/275/220

Find a nice quiet trail and just take it easy. You might be surprised at
the number of people who didn't learn to ride a bike until they were an
adult.

I'll have to search for an adult beginner's guide on the Internet.

You might consider lowering the seat (so the feet are closer to the ground)
until you feel comfortable balancing yourself on the bike. It also makes it
a tad easier to get up and down on the seat when starting and stopping. You
won't want to keep the seat in a low postion as it's harder to pedal but it
might help until you become comfortable balancing on it.

I'm sure you do fine! Enjoy the new bike.

Beverly

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

The Historian wrote:
The Historian wrote:
wrote:
The Historian wrote:
I still have a lot to learn about hiking. I didn't bring enough water,
for one. Also, I was far too heavily dressed for the unseasonably warm
weather. Halfway up the side of Misery I stopped and removed my jacket
and shirt. Fortunately, underneath I was wearing a T-shirt. So in
addition to the beauties of nature, other hikers got to see the
spectacle of a fat middle aged man with the phrase "I am the kid your
parents warned you about" printed on his chest.

LoL! At least it's a fun learning process. :-)

The learning has continued this week. I did 2.5 miles, I estimate,
hiking along horse trails near French Creek yesterday. I learned never
to hike along horse trails - damn messy! Today, I'm going back to Mt.
Misery. There's a covered bridge at the end of one of the trails. I
didn't get to it last time, but I will today!

Famous last words....

I intended to go hiking today, but I took a "road less traveled":

(Gold's Gym, Royersford. A fat chess historian is lifting. He sees a
gym member exit and hop on his bike.)

Neil: Hey, where'd you get the bike?

Gym member: A place called Bikesport in Trappe. See ya! (He pedals
off.)

Neil: Hmm. Trappe isn't that far from here. I could stop on the way to
Valley Forge Park, spend a few minutes, and then go hiking.

(The scene shifts uneasily to Bikesport in Trappe. All the employees
are young enough to be The Historian's children. He approaches one of
the kids.)

Neil: Could you help me, please? I haven't ridden a bicycle since I was
ten, and that was a 15 dollar Huffy. I understand bikes may have
improved over the past three decades. I'd just like to spend a couple
of minutes looking, and I'm not ready to buy yet.

Employee: OK.

Neil: Do these things still come with baskets in the front?

(She shows The Historian a few bikes. Two and a half hours go by.)

Neil: I really like this Trek Navigator 3.0. It seems stable, and the
seat is nearly as wide as my own. I'm not ready to buy yet, but I'll be
back in a few months.

Employee: We have a sale ending today, and financing is available.

Neil: Financing? A sale? (A smile crosses his face.) Let's ride!

Neil, the Hik, err, Biking Historian
385/275/220

Mate, you'll never look back, I rate buying my bike a real turning
point in the whole weight loss journey. It will take a while to build
confidence & fitness but once you do you'll wonder how you ever lived
without one.
As they say in the classics, its just like riding a bike!

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

"The Historian" wrote in message
ups.com...
We have to wait a week for it to arrive in Trappe.
Meanwhile, I can't
decide if I should be happy, or consider myself insane.
I'm gonna be 41
next month, for goodness sake!

I think you should be happy. You'll have lots of fun with
that great bike. And, I loved the drama. Very entertaining
:).

Take care,
eddiegirl
136/130

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

On 17 Dec 2006 18:08:27 -0800, "The Historian"
wrote:


We have to wait a week for it to arrive in Trappe. Meanwhile, I can't
decide if I should be happy, or consider myself insane. I'm gonna be 41
next month, for goodness sake!

Neil, I think this is great. You're certainly not insane, and I
really look forward to hearing about your progress with the biking
when you get started.

janice

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

"The Historian" wrote in message
ups.com...

I'll have to search for an adult beginner's guide on the
Internet.

Neil,
I thought you might enjoy this article, although it's not
a beginner's guide - it's 10 reasons to ride a bicycle.
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/7418.0.html

Take care,
eddiegirl
136/130

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

eddiegirl wrote:
"The Historian" wrote in message
ups.com...

I'll have to search for an adult beginner's guide on the
Internet.

Neil,
I thought you might enjoy this article, although it's not
a beginner's guide - it's 10 reasons to ride a bicycle.
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/7418.0.html

Take care,
eddiegirl
136/130

I loved some of the reasons for riding :) I really enjoy the social aspect
of riding.

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

"The Historian" wrote in message
ups.com...

Chris Braun wrote:
On 17 Dec 2006 16:59:58 -0800, "The Historian"
wrote:


The Historian wrote:
wrote:
The Historian wrote:
I still have a lot to learn about hiking. I didn't bring enough
water,
for one. Also, I was far too heavily dressed for the unseasonably
warm
weather. Halfway up the side of Misery I stopped and removed my
jacket
and shirt. Fortunately, underneath I was wearing a T-shirt. So in
addition to the beauties of nature, other hikers got to see the
spectacle of a fat middle aged man with the phrase "I am the kid
your
parents warned you about" printed on his chest.

LoL! At least it's a fun learning process. :-)

The learning has continued this week. I did 2.5 miles, I estimate,
hiking along horse trails near French Creek yesterday. I learned never
to hike along horse trails - damn messy! Today, I'm going back to Mt.
Misery. There's a covered bridge at the end of one of the trails. I
didn't get to it last time, but I will today!

Famous last words....

I intended to go hiking today, but I took a "road less traveled":

(Gold's Gym, Royersford. A fat chess historian is lifting. He sees a
gym member exit and hop on his bike.)

Neil: Hey, where'd you get the bike?

Gym member: A place called Bikesport in Trappe. See ya! (He pedals
off.)

Neil: Hmm. Trappe isn't that far from here. I could stop on the way to
Valley Forge Park, spend a few minutes, and then go hiking.

(The scene shifts uneasily to Bikesport in Trappe. All the employees
are young enough to be The Historian's children. He approaches one of
the kids.)

Neil: Could you help me, please? I haven't ridden a bicycle since I was
ten, and that was a 15 dollar Huffy. I understand bikes may have
improved over the past three decades. I'd just like to spend a couple
of minutes looking, and I'm not ready to buy yet.

Employee: OK.

Neil: Do these things still come with baskets in the front?

(She shows The Historian a few bikes. Two and a half hours go by.)

Neil: I really like this Trek Navigator 3.0. It seems stable, and the
seat is nearly as wide as my own. I'm not ready to buy yet, but I'll be
back in a few months.

Employee: We have a sale ending today, and financing is available.

Neil: Financing? A sale? (A smile crosses his face.) Let's ride!

Neil, the Hik, err, Biking Historian
385/275/220

Cool! I'm eager to hear what you think of it!

We have to wait a week for it to arrive in Trappe. Meanwhile, I can't
decide if I should be happy, or consider myself insane. I'm gonna be 41
next month, for goodness sake!

Neil
385/275/220

I'm 44 and doing my first Marathon in 4 months, 2 days and 14 hours! I'm
sure the bike will be a great lark! As I saw on a Christmas Card, if you
only have two choices in life, choose the one that will get you into
trouble!


--
Rachael

176/116/119

www.justgiving.com/rachaelslondonmarathon

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

The Historian wrote:
Beverly wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Beverly wrote:
The Historian wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Nice choice. I happen to be a real Trek fan. Did you get the
silver/black
or green?

Silver and black. Black is a slimming color, and silver matches my
hair....unfortunately.

One of mine is black and silver. The other is called carbon black. I like
them because they don't clash with my bold colored biking clothes :) :)

Perhaps I was fortunate that Bikesport didn't have anything in my
extended sizes. I did buy really outrageous cycling socks. They'll
shock anyone who knows the staid, conservative, bookish, classical
music listening chess historian. It's a small step at rebellion. :-)

I pick up the bike tomorrow, if its in. Meanwhile the cycling clothes I
ordered from Nashbar are here. Since now is not good biking weather, I
have three or four months to shrink into them. Goodness I look silly in
them!

Neil
385/275/220

Neil and His Bicycle - A Drama in One Incredible Act.
 

The Historian wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Beverly wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Beverly wrote:
The Historian wrote:
The Historian wrote:
Nice choice. I happen to be a real Trek fan. Did you get the
silver/black or green?

Silver and black. Black is a slimming color, and silver matches my
hair....unfortunately.

One of mine is black and silver. The other is called carbon black. I
like
them because they don't clash with my bold colored biking clothes :) :)

Perhaps I was fortunate that Bikesport didn't have anything in my
extended sizes. I did buy really outrageous cycling socks. They'll
shock anyone who knows the staid, conservative, bookish, classical
music listening chess historian. It's a small step at rebellion. :-)

I pick up the bike tomorrow, if its in. Meanwhile the cycling clothes I
ordered from Nashbar are here. Since now is not good biking weather, I
have three or four months to shrink into them. Goodness I look silly in
them!

Neil
385/275/220

I had similar feelings about the cycling clothing when I first started
wearing them :) I now know the benefits of wearing them outweighs not
wearing them - you back side will thank you!

Next year at this time you'll probably be buying winter bike clothing. This
is the first winter I've done anything other than an occasional ride when
the temps hit the high 40's. I now own lots of winter clothing and lights
for biking after dark - nobody said this sport was inexpensive :(

I plan to do the regular Sunday morning ride but we've rescheduled our
Monday night ride to Thursday night this week. Our unofficial temperature
cutoff is 25F for the rides.

Beverly