I GOT MY BIKE!!!

I feel as if a lot has happened within the last week.. My bike arrived at The Bicycle Escape (TBE), I got my clipless pedals and shoes, and I went for my first couple of solo rides. Not to mention meeting past and new B&B'ers at a volunteer event!

My bike arrived at TBE last Tuesday and due to illness, I was not able to go in and build it until Friday. TBE's manager helped me build my bike Friday morning. Along with building it, he taught me a lot about maintenance and a lot of the little things that go into a bike. I never knew there was so much that goes into maintaining a bike.... and I'm really excited to learn more about it from TBE as I really get into my training.

Anyways, Roger and I built my bike and then each took it out for a test ride to make sure everything was working correctly and that everything felt good. We also put on clipless pedals. For those of you (like me) that are new to the sport of cycling, clipless pedals are pedals that you clip into... so you are one with the bike. This allows you to use a continuous motion when pedaling - you are both pulling up and pushing down on the pedal. Alice - one of the most friendly people I have ever met - taught me how to clip in/out of the pedals. Both she and Roger warned me not to go out in my cycling shoes until I had a little experience on my bike... Cycling shoes and a new bike are hard to get used to all at once. Did I listen? Of course not...

When mentioning to a certain someone that I will not name that I was going out in my tennis shoes, I was told "where's the adventure in that?" (or something along those lines)... so out I went to get the cycling experience. At TBE, I was told that an average person falls about two times when starting on clipless pedals. I have already exceeded that. On my first time out, I fell twice. Of course, someone driving by saw my second fall and after admitting that the only thing hurt was my pride, he drove off smiling. The same guy passed me Saturday while out running and honked and waved... twice. I'm pretty sure I blushed both times. When I went out yesterday, I only fell once.. Which I consider improvement. The act of unclipping isn't very hard, but it is the act of balancing to one side or the other that is a challenge to me. I'm sure it will get easier as I ride more.

First group ride will be on February 2nd with the TBE Groundhog ride (more information at https://www.facebook.com/events/402740799810823/). My goal is to be proficient with my pedals/cleats by that time!

This weekend, I volunteered for the National Day of Service in DC. A group of past and new riders got together and helped paint Tyler Elementary in downtown DC. It was a wonderful experience both to meet fellow riders and get to participate in such a great cause. Meeting some other 2013 riders will hopefully lead to some joint fundraiser events... so be on the look out for those!

Last thing for today.. I named my bike. I used to think it silly when I heard of people naming inanimate objects. Well, when I bought my car in August 2011, I jokingly named her Dutchess. While I don't use it often in everyday conversation, I still think of my car as Dutchess. I had a few things in mind when I went into TBE on Friday, but after seeing my bike, I decided it was definitely a "she" and that she looked like royalty also. She looked more like a princess to me. I had picked out the name Sophia in memory of one of my favorite dogs that recently went to doggie heaven to chase squirrels. Therefore, the name "Princess Sophia" was chosen for my bike. At the time, I didn't remember that this was also a (somewhat inappropriate) movie reference.. until girl's night this weekend. Oh well, Princess Sophia will remain my beautiful bike's name :)

Don't forget to donate if you haven't already! The money goes to a wonderful cause! (http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/6747)

PS - I noticed that most of my post title's include exclamation marks... That just shows how excited I am for my journey!

The bike arrived at TBE!

How it looked when we took it out of the box

It actually looks like a bike now!

Roger, the manager at TBE (and my good buddy!), helping me make adjustments to my bike.

Princess Sophia before our first ride.