Bloodied but Unbowed - My first bike ride!

My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
stopping.

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)

My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
walking, was about 1.5 miles.

Neil
385/275/220

Way to go, Neil! Keep it up and we'll be reading about your triatholon
adventures in the not-too-distant future. =c)

"The Historian" wrote in message
ups.com...
My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
stopping.

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)

My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
walking, was about 1.5 miles.

Neil
385/275/220

The Historian wrote:
My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
stopping.

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)

My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
walking, was about 1.5 miles.

Neil
385/275/220


Good for you, Neil!! I know we're going to hear about your 20-mile
rides soon enough.

You do wear a helmet, right?

I'm off for my 5-mile run.

SFrunner wrote:
The Historian wrote:
My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice in Bikesport's
parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me about ten minutes
to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for only a few feet
at a time. The length of time I could spend underway grew, however, and
by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred feet without
stopping.

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and
the high winds today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward
leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it
I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and lifting gloves, so
I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I seem to be OK.
The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it home. It's
fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)

My total riding time was about an hour, including the time spent
walking the bike back home. Total distance covered, excluding the
walking, was about 1.5 miles.

Neil
385/275/220


Good for you, Neil!! I know we're going to hear about your 20-mile
rides soon enough.

Hills are a real problem for me. I need to climb those first.

You do wear a helmet, right?

Of course. Do you think I'm stupid enough to pull a Roethlisberger?

I'm off for my 5-mile run.

Enjoy.

"The Historian" writes:

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
circumstances.

Funnily enough, the faster you go, the more stable you are, due to the
gyroscopic forces produced by the wheels.

Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and the high winds
today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward leg, I ran
into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it I took a
spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans

I'd recommend not wearing jeans. The seam gets very uncomfortable after
a while, and they tend to chafe if they get wet.

--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
"After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The Historian" writes:

SFrunner wrote:
You do wear a helmet, right?

Of course. Do you think I'm stupid enough to pull a Roethlisberger?

Motorcycle helmets are designed for high energy impacts. Cycle helmets
aren't. They're designed to prevent minor cuts and scrapes at
low-speeds. If you choose to wear a helmet, bear this in mind - there's
some evidence that wearing a cycle helmet increases the likelihood of
serious injury, possibly from risk compensation behaviour by the
rider (but also possibly from the fact that they make the head bigger,
heavier, and more susceptible to dangerous rotational forces.) Don't do
anything on the bike that you wouldn't do if you weren't wearing a
helmet.

--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
"I've had pretty good success with Stan by throwing him my best pitch and
backing up third." - Carl Erskine

Keith Willoughby wrote:
"The Historian" writes:

SFrunner wrote:
You do wear a helmet, right?

Of course. Do you think I'm stupid enough to pull a Roethlisberger?

Motorcycle helmets are designed for high energy impacts. Cycle helmets
aren't. They're designed to prevent minor cuts and scrapes at
low-speeds. If you choose to wear a helmet, bear this in mind - there's
some evidence that wearing a cycle helmet increases the likelihood of
serious injury, possibly from risk compensation behaviour by the
rider (but also possibly from the fact that they make the head bigger,
heavier, and more susceptible to dangerous rotational forces.) Don't do
anything on the bike that you wouldn't do if you weren't wearing a
helmet.

Hi Keith,

Don't worry, I still have too much trouble keeping balanced to try
anything risky.

Keith Willoughby wrote:
"The Historian" writes:

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike, however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best of
circumstances.

Funnily enough, the faster you go, the more stable you are, due to the
gyroscopic forces produced by the wheels.

Agreed. But going fast is only good if I have 100 percent control of
the bike. Also, SE Pennsylvania is very hilly. Hills are a problem for
me.

Add in his newness on a bike, hills on the route, and the high winds
today and you are courting problems. And on the homeward leg, I ran
into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox, but in missing it I took a
spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans

I'd recommend not wearing jeans. The seam gets very uncomfortable after
a while, and they tend to chafe if they get wet.

When I get to the point that's a problem, I'll stop wearing them. By
then I will be less prone to spilling onto asphalt and gravel.

Neil
385/275/220

"The Historian" wrote in message
ups.com...
My Trek and I went for a ride today. Other than practice
in Bikesport's
parking lot, this was my first real ride. It took me
about ten minutes
to get underway, and at first I could stay balanced for
only a few feet
at a time. The length of time I could spend underway
grew, however, and
by the end of my ride I could travel several hundred
feet without
stopping.

I'm still far from saying I'm in control of my bike,
however. A 275
pound guy isn't going to be very stable under the best
of
circumstances. Add in his newness on a bike, hills on
the route, and
the high winds today and you are courting problems. And
on the homeward
leg, I ran into one. Or almost; I missed the mailbox,
but in missing it
I took a spill. Fortunately I was wearing jeans and
lifting gloves, so
I escaped with only a scraped and bruised left knee. I
seem to be OK.
The chain came off the bike in the spill, so I walked it
home. It's
fixed now, but I'm done with riding for today. :-)

My total riding time was about an hour, including the
time spent
walking the bike back home. Total distance covered,
excluding the
walking, was about 1.5 miles.

Neil
385/275/220

Good for you! I give you lots of credit for trying
something new. As you probably know, speed (and accuracy)
will come in time, just like in any other new activity.

Take care,
eddiegirl
136/135/130

"Keith Willoughby" wrote in message
...
"The Historian" writes:

SFrunner wrote:
You do wear a helmet, right?

Of course. Do you think I'm stupid enough to pull a Roethlisberger?

Motorcycle helmets are designed for high energy impacts. Cycle helmets
aren't. They're designed to prevent minor cuts and scrapes at
low-speeds. If you choose to wear a helmet, bear this in mind - there's
some evidence that wearing a cycle helmet increases the likelihood of
serious injury, possibly from risk compensation behaviour by the
rider (but also possibly from the fact that they make the head bigger,
heavier, and more susceptible to dangerous rotational forces.) Don't do
anything on the bike that you wouldn't do if you weren't wearing a
helmet.

--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
"I've had pretty good success with Stan by throwing him my best pitch
and
backing up third." - Carl Erskine

A bicycle helmet will compensate for impacts about as well as a MC
helmet. The outer shell of the motorcycle version is much more abrasion
resistant to protect against injury while sliding.

A bicycle helmet may have saved my life. I hit some deep sand (I think),
crashed, and got a concussion. The next thing I remember I was at the
emergency room getting a cat scan. I was conscious the whole time but
have no memory of about 6 hours. I certainly would have been worse off
not wearing a helmet.

As for motorcycles, around here the riskiest behaviour seems to be by
guys with no helmets, wearing shorts and t-shirts, and speeding and
weaving through traffic. Sometimes wearing flip flops.

A bicycle and a motorcycle are not the same thing. The only similarity
is the number of wheels.