get a bike and ride it

We’re going to make this a weekly thing. Mt. biking is my new favorite way to exercise. I’m getting better at it too. Technique and courage much improved, still lots of room for improvement as far as strength and endurance go.

I still need to actually use my bike for transportation.

I went mountain biking last night! Yay! It was very difficult, but surprisingly easier than the last time (10 months ago). I know I’m in worse shape now, maybe she was just going easier on me…
My friend is trying to go mountain biking at least once a week, hopefully I can tag along enough to get decent at this.
Also, the seat that my coworker gave me is a billion times more comfortable than the one that came with my bike. Its not as cushy as the one’s I was looking at in the store, but still a huge improvement!

I went on a long bike ride today with some friends. Lots of fun. We stayed on the path mostly, but rode in the street in some areas, all on bike boulevards with low traffic.

Still nervous about using the bike for transportation, especially now that I’m not moving to a bike friendly area.

I have borrowed my friend’s son’s bike as he has grown out of it.So if this all works out OK I will buy it off him. I love it! Have been out most days and brought a new crash helmet today and a basket but the basket wouldn’t fit, so I can’t be an utter dag! I am really enjoying this and plan some great cycle rides, even just up to the shops is fun.

I said I’d cross this one off once I’d ridden to and from university five times… I’ve now done it four times so just one more time to go! I hope by then it’ll have become a habit and I can ride in at least once or twice a week. I feel great not using any fossil fuels to get there and saving bus/train money.. so much so that I sometimes treat myself to buying sushi as a treat to reward myself. [Though hey, perhaps buying pre-packaged sushi made somewhere else in the country cancels out the green factor of cycling…!]

I now ride to the supermarket pretty much every time I go so that’s a plus too.

So I got a bike about three weeks ago from the second-hand recycling place.. but it turned out to be too big for me! The guy let me take it back and choose another one for him to repair and swap for the too-big one. I now have it and it’s great.. much smaller and lighter and I can actually ride up small hills on it…

I picked it up yesterday and went on my first trip today to the supermarket. Only a couple of miles but still. It was quicker than walking so I’ll be able to go more often and buy less at a time – cutting out the £1.80 bus fare back for four minutes I sometimes end up paying, where I still have to walk for 15 minutes after. Ah the joys. I’ll officially tick this goal off once I’ve ridden to uni and back, say, five times!

My boyfriend lives on a designated “bike boulevard”. Even so, I’m too afraid to ride my bike on it. While the traffic is low, it’s still traffic. And there is parking on both sides of the street and I’m afraid of the cars pulling out of those spots without noticing bikes. In fact I often park there and am super cautious about bikes every time I arrive and leave.
Tonight there was a city planning presentation about the bike boulevard so boyfriend and I went to it and learned all about what this city is doing to make these areas safer and more well-marked and we gave our feedback. I felt like I was helping. It was good.

So I bought a bike from a second-hand/recycling charity! The guy there was really nice and he fixes up and services the bikes before sale. Old donated bikes that aren’t road-worthy are used for scrap and better bikes are just worked on. If there’s a basket hanging around I get one of those thrown in as well! Hooray!

Now I just need to re-learn how to ride a bike. Haven’t ridden for about 8 years and even then I never rode on roads =/

I road to the store today! Yay! Still not on the busy streets yet, although I did cross the busy street in the intersection as a vehicle, not on the crosswalk. I think thats a minor victory.
I want a new seat. Would a mountain bike look strange with one of those big cushy cruiser seats. Probably.

I really should get a bike.. to ride to uni sometimes, to ride to the supermarket in town. That way I can get fitter but also get places quicker and save on bus/train fares. If I can ride to the supermarket it’ll really help, because that way I won’t feel the need to stock up on too much stuff at once – which means less money spent and less bad junk food ‘supplies’ bought that I just end up eating in one go.