...while I was waiting to turn left onto Pontiac trail. I had decided to go out tonight for an easy easy easy bike ride to recover from yesterday's killer and to prepare for tomorrow morning's Monday jaunt with my BF (who for the sake of this blog I'll call Trumpet).
After tooling around the neighborhood for a bit, I rode up Pontiac and down Dhu Varren to a nice development with a great hill. It goes down, veers to the left, and back up again. When I was first learning how to ride my bike I used this hill to practice shifting down to granny gear (which I hardly use anymore) and back to the second chainring.
I took a few rides around the block, so to speak, and thought it might rain, so I rode back up Dhu Varren to the Pontiac intersection. I slid into the center of the lane (because I was turning left), unclipped, and rested my weight on my right foot. One car went by. And then another. I saw my opening after a little white something-or-other car.
As the little white something-or-other car went by, the driver honked and gave me a thumbs up!
It was über cool. And I think it will make me happy for weeks.
6/24/2007
6/23/2007
Tagged.
Well, I have been tagged by my friend Lizzie and the 7 Random Things meme. I suppose I'll be a nice blogger and play along!
In no particular order:
1. I like Star Trek. I'm not a trekkie (or trekker...or whatever they like to be called), but I do enjoy a good episode of TNG or Voyager. I think Patrick Stewart is quite sexy in his uniform and I think of Captain Picard everytime I drink Earl Grey tea. Make it so, Number 1.
2. I jumped off the roof when I was thirteen. No, it wasn't a suicide attempt. It was a challenge from my sister who called me a chicken. Looking back, it was a REALLY stupid thing to do. I landed myself in the emergency room and then in surgery a week later. They had to use a screw to correct my shattered ankle. Bye bye ballet!
3. I, in general, hate movies about music or musicians. It's probably because I am one. I found Mr. Holland's Opus contrived and I was very aware of its attempt to manipulate my emotions. Which it didn't. I'm okay with Amadeus, as long as people realize that the movie is a completely dramatized version of Mozart's life. Salieri wasn't really such a villan. Most of those events didn't even happen the way they were portrayed. Sigh.
4. My favorite food is pizza. Yup, I'm 30, and I can still say that pizza is my favorite food.
5. I once thought about giving up music and moving to Korea. Or becoming a massage therapist. Or teaching English in China.
6. My current dream is to be a good enough cyclist and a good enough German speaker to spend a few weeks cycling through Germany. My dreams change often, though, so stay tuned. It's my Gemini nature.
7. My favorite book is Travels with Charley by Steinbeck. I read it first when I was 13 on a recommendation from one of my aunts (can't remember which one...). It's a great account of Steinbeck's travels through America with his dog, Charley. I think it may have sparked my interest in travel at a young age.
So there it is. Seven random things about me. Alas, I don't have much of a web presence yet, so I won't be tagging anyone.
But if you happened to run across my blog and read this meme, I hope you found it interesting!
Now I think I'll go ride my bike.
In no particular order:
1. I like Star Trek. I'm not a trekkie (or trekker...or whatever they like to be called), but I do enjoy a good episode of TNG or Voyager. I think Patrick Stewart is quite sexy in his uniform and I think of Captain Picard everytime I drink Earl Grey tea. Make it so, Number 1.
2. I jumped off the roof when I was thirteen. No, it wasn't a suicide attempt. It was a challenge from my sister who called me a chicken. Looking back, it was a REALLY stupid thing to do. I landed myself in the emergency room and then in surgery a week later. They had to use a screw to correct my shattered ankle. Bye bye ballet!
3. I, in general, hate movies about music or musicians. It's probably because I am one. I found Mr. Holland's Opus contrived and I was very aware of its attempt to manipulate my emotions. Which it didn't. I'm okay with Amadeus, as long as people realize that the movie is a completely dramatized version of Mozart's life. Salieri wasn't really such a villan. Most of those events didn't even happen the way they were portrayed. Sigh.
4. My favorite food is pizza. Yup, I'm 30, and I can still say that pizza is my favorite food.
5. I once thought about giving up music and moving to Korea. Or becoming a massage therapist. Or teaching English in China.
6. My current dream is to be a good enough cyclist and a good enough German speaker to spend a few weeks cycling through Germany. My dreams change often, though, so stay tuned. It's my Gemini nature.
7. My favorite book is Travels with Charley by Steinbeck. I read it first when I was 13 on a recommendation from one of my aunts (can't remember which one...). It's a great account of Steinbeck's travels through America with his dog, Charley. I think it may have sparked my interest in travel at a young age.
So there it is. Seven random things about me. Alas, I don't have much of a web presence yet, so I won't be tagging anyone.
But if you happened to run across my blog and read this meme, I hope you found it interesting!
Now I think I'll go ride my bike.
Shoes!!!!
Yesterday, I received the most thrilling package in the mail. My bike shoes finally arrived!!
Aren't they pretty?
Over two weeks ago I decided to go for it and go clipless. I did research. I visited my LBS. I tried on shoes and got my size. I spent hours online trying to find the best deal on shoes and pedals and finally, last Friday, took the plunge and ordered them. I decided it would be okay to order these online because 1) it was going to be cheaper 2) I had a gift certificate to Nashbar and 3) I knew I would have help putting the pedals on my bike.
I couldn't WAIT to try something new. (As if the whole cycling thing wasn't new enough!)
I ordered my pedals from ebay and they arrived while I was away at the beach.
Here is the old pedal:
Here are my new pedals (obviously not on the bike yet):
My shoes have cleats which lock into the pedals. The feeling of being clipped into the bike is totally awesome. Just as long as I don't lose my balance...and take a tumble...
It's the starting and stopping that's tricky. And the standing. And the not falling over.
But it is totally and completely worth it.
Aren't they pretty?
Over two weeks ago I decided to go for it and go clipless. I did research. I visited my LBS. I tried on shoes and got my size. I spent hours online trying to find the best deal on shoes and pedals and finally, last Friday, took the plunge and ordered them. I decided it would be okay to order these online because 1) it was going to be cheaper 2) I had a gift certificate to Nashbar and 3) I knew I would have help putting the pedals on my bike.
I couldn't WAIT to try something new. (As if the whole cycling thing wasn't new enough!)
I ordered my pedals from ebay and they arrived while I was away at the beach.
Here is the old pedal:
Here are my new pedals (obviously not on the bike yet):
My shoes have cleats which lock into the pedals. The feeling of being clipped into the bike is totally awesome. Just as long as I don't lose my balance...and take a tumble...
It's the starting and stopping that's tricky. And the standing. And the not falling over.
But it is totally and completely worth it.
6/15/2007
car musings
My car is old. Ancient, even, by today's standards. It was in an accident once, had its windshield replaced, brakes fixed, new tires, countless oil changes, and a very, very close brush with death. A few years ago it was given a grim diagnosis.
"It could go any day now" the car-guy said. "Or, it could last a few months. We just don't know".
A friend of a friend advised me to make it look real nice and sell it. Somehow, though, that didn't seem ethical. How could I sell my car to someone when the car-guy said might go any day? Eventually I got over my fear of konking out on the road and starting driving it around town. I mean, I do have AAA and friends to come rescue me, right? So if I get stuck somewhere I won't actually be stuck, right?
Today, though, I had to take the car in to get the seatbelt fixed and unexpectedly had to leave it at the dealer. After getting over my annoyance at a miscommunication with yet another car-guy, I took the bus and walked home. It gave me a chance to reflect on car-lessness. So many blogs I've read recently are of folks who are forsaking their cars for more sustainable forms of transportation. They commute by bike, by bus, or by foot. They combine trips when forced to use their autos, or they carpool. It all makes so much sense...
Can I use my car less? Yup. Do I always make the "greener" choice? Nope. But I want to. I want to keep that slightly giddy car-free feeling I had on my walk home. I want the freedom to make that quick coffee stop or to pop into a local shop. I want to do less harm to the environment and just take more time.
Of course, this is all easy when it's sunny and 75 degrees. Who knows how I'll feel in the middle of a Michigan winter.
For now, though, I'll continue to explore car-lessness and continue to read and continue to see if I can make changes...slowly.
"It could go any day now" the car-guy said. "Or, it could last a few months. We just don't know".
A friend of a friend advised me to make it look real nice and sell it. Somehow, though, that didn't seem ethical. How could I sell my car to someone when the car-guy said might go any day? Eventually I got over my fear of konking out on the road and starting driving it around town. I mean, I do have AAA and friends to come rescue me, right? So if I get stuck somewhere I won't actually be stuck, right?
Today, though, I had to take the car in to get the seatbelt fixed and unexpectedly had to leave it at the dealer. After getting over my annoyance at a miscommunication with yet another car-guy, I took the bus and walked home. It gave me a chance to reflect on car-lessness. So many blogs I've read recently are of folks who are forsaking their cars for more sustainable forms of transportation. They commute by bike, by bus, or by foot. They combine trips when forced to use their autos, or they carpool. It all makes so much sense...
Can I use my car less? Yup. Do I always make the "greener" choice? Nope. But I want to. I want to keep that slightly giddy car-free feeling I had on my walk home. I want the freedom to make that quick coffee stop or to pop into a local shop. I want to do less harm to the environment and just take more time.
Of course, this is all easy when it's sunny and 75 degrees. Who knows how I'll feel in the middle of a Michigan winter.
For now, though, I'll continue to explore car-lessness and continue to read and continue to see if I can make changes...slowly.
6/13/2007
Addiction.
Well, here it is. My first attempt at blogging. I must admit: I am intrigued by this idea of blogging, my friend's blogs, cycling blogs, food blogs, blogs blogs blogs. And I'm afraid of giving into another tempting addiction when I'm already up to my nosehairs in my very own version of cocaine: cycling.
It's new, this cycling addiction. I bought my road bike a mere month ago and she's been begging to be ridden every day since. I used to run. I used to study. I used to practice. Now I surf cycling forums, read magazines, analyze nutrition, and massage my dumb-struck quads.
The people at my LBS didn't warn me this might happen. They quite gleefully fitted me up and gently pushed my out the door for a test ride. I was hooked. Before I got on the road I wasn't sure I really wanted to spend the money required to purchase even an entry level road bike. I was really just planning to take a test ride or two, weigh my options, and maybe look to ebay for my bike needs.
Alas, no.
As soon my feet hit the pedals and the wheels sped down the roads behind my LBS, I knew that I HAD to have this bike. And so I bought her.
Here she is:
See all those books behind her?
Yeah. I should be reading those.
It's new, this cycling addiction. I bought my road bike a mere month ago and she's been begging to be ridden every day since. I used to run. I used to study. I used to practice. Now I surf cycling forums, read magazines, analyze nutrition, and massage my dumb-struck quads.
The people at my LBS didn't warn me this might happen. They quite gleefully fitted me up and gently pushed my out the door for a test ride. I was hooked. Before I got on the road I wasn't sure I really wanted to spend the money required to purchase even an entry level road bike. I was really just planning to take a test ride or two, weigh my options, and maybe look to ebay for my bike needs.
Alas, no.
As soon my feet hit the pedals and the wheels sped down the roads behind my LBS, I knew that I HAD to have this bike. And so I bought her.
Here she is:
See all those books behind her?
Yeah. I should be reading those.
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