Redemption looks like a red tricycle...

I lie in bed and all I can think about is cycling again.
I know I should be thinking about work. I know I should be sleeping. I know I should be contemplating many things that are more significant than my butt on a bike saddle. But I can't.
I imagine the Arizona sun playing hide and seek among the jagged mountains at South Mountain Park at the end of the day and zooming down San Juan Road toward the ramada.
I think of the group riding up to telegraph pass in Ahwatukee, many of us mashing as the sinewy men careen past us yelling GOOD JOB!
I remember the morning chill and the site of my friend's blinking light slowly heading toward me at our regular meeting spot for our morning 17 miles and I can think of nothing else.

It was these seductive thoughts that lured me to the garage a few days ago to pump the tires on my Trek hybrid and open the garage, strap on my old helmet and think to myself, it's time.

The air was cool and the neighborhood was quiet. I swung my battered left leg over the saddle and stood for a moment. What I imagined would be perfectly natural, felt foreign to me. My "Fresh and Easy" bike as I had named it with it's black canvas pannier on the back for shopping at the neighborhood grocery felt awkward, heavy and, well, frightening.

I took a deep breath and slid onto the seat. Instead of feeling like I had slipped on a comfortable familiar glove, I felt shaky, wobbly and scared. At the end of the driveway, I nearly fell and slammed down the wrong foot and felt lucky to be upright. Feeling so foolish, I swung my leg over again and dejectedly walked the bike back to its spot in the garage. I could swear the bike was sulking in shame over having caused the whole disaster.

At first, I didn't want to tell anyone what I had done. With so many well-wishers offering encouragement, I didn't want to broadcast what a dismal failure this first endeavor on a bike had been. But, I did share it with a friend who had, herself, been in two accidents, each time breaking her pelvis and also her wrist the second time. She assured me that this was a natural feeling and that it wouldn't last. Her encouragement went one step further, she offered me a loaner red trike that her significant other had in his shop.

The very next day, I was at the shop plopped atop the vintage 70s adult tricycle. Although it presents its own set of challenges of turning and managing it, the red tricycle is just what I needed. Riding the wind trainer is amazing because it feels real and spinning on the stationary bike helps me work up a sweat, but this is real outdoor movement. I felt alive as I wound around the parking area.

Belief is back and my failure, redeemed. I can hardly wait to ride it tomorrow...

I know it's only a matter of time before I can feel the feeling of clipped in feet and wind whooshing by me at 18 mph. But until then, my borrowed red trike will give me the exercise and the confidence I need to move in that direction.

Women Cyclist Shifting Tips - Basics, Nevers and Always for Girls Gone Riding

July 7th Wine Women and Wheels Shifting Clinic at Global Bikes in Gilbert, AZ

Learning to shift is among the most intimidating of skills when first learning to road bike. When heading out on a flat beginner ride, there are not too many opportunities for dangerous mistakes. It's typically when riding steeper grades that being in the correct gear could cause some headaches or even a fall

Here are some basic shifting tips to get you started:

Most of your shifting will occur using your right shifter, or rear gears.

The left or front shifter is used for bigger or more intense shifting when heading up a signficant grade. Most riding will be done in the middle ring of a triple or the larger sprocket of a double or compact double.

The biggest sprocket in the back is the one that produces the easiest pedaling.

While the largest ring in the front produces faster or harder pedalling, the large ring in the back is your easiest gear.

Gears CLOSEST TO the bike are easier. As they move further away from the bike fram, harder.

It's easier to remember this way, but you will see that the smaller ring in the front is closer to the bike and the larger ring in the back is closer to the frame.

The smallest sprocket in the back allows you to move the fastest.

When you are in your smallest, or highest number gear in the rear (usually #7, #8 or #9), it takes more pressure to move the pedals, but you can move along more quickly.

Shifting of the right (rear) will occur when pedaling is becoming too easy to too difficult. The shift will permit you to adjust to this change in terrain.

Adjust as you are moving along smaller terrain changes.

Shifting the left shifter makes a big impact, and shifting the right shifter is to fine tune your gear selection.

When you anticipate a hill ahead, don't wait until you have engaged the hill to shift, anticipate it and shift while pedalling softly before you reach the hill.

Triple vs. compact doubles – If you care what racers think of your bike, go with a compact double, if you don’t care, get a triple.

Even with a triple, a cyclist will not utilize ALL of these gear configurations, but if you don't care about weight, it's good to know the gears are there.

Rule of Thumb – Use Cogs 1-4 with small ring; Cogs 5-8 with the Large Ring.

Keep the chain as straight as possible; it can put too much strain or stretch on the chain if it becomes too angled. Never ride Large ring front/large ring back or small ring front/small ring back.

Use your fingers, save your legs!

 

Many new riders, particularly former runners tend to stay in harder gears and 'mash' as they ride. Using shifting and doing more spinning is easier on your legs and provides a more aerobic workout rather than building muscles!

Ready yourself AND your bike for the summer heat

If you're like me and ride year-round, you have probably noticed that you and your bike perform differently in different weather. That's why it makes sense to take a few extra steps to prepare you and your trusty steed for the summer weather.

Let's start with the easier of the two, your bike.
If you haven't had your bike in for a tune-up after the months of winter riding, it's a good time to do that.
Here are points to either check out yourself if you are well-schooled in bike maintenance or to have your favorite diagnostic bike shop review it for you:

Check out your brakes. Look for the grooves in your brake pads. If the grooves are completely gone and the surface is smooth. Time to replace them.

Assess your tires. The life of road tires vary from tire to tire. If you do not feel comfortable with this assessment, get the help of a professional you trust. Obviously, the road surfaces are dramatically hotter during the summer months and having sound tires is an important element anytime but even more importantly through the heat of summer.

Check out your chain. There are different types of these gauges out there and none are very expensive. However, if you don't have one, check with your bike mechanic and have him measure your chain to be sure it is not stretched. The measurement takes about 30 seconds. If your chain is stretched, it should be replaced. Cost is minimal and you can even learn to do this yourself, but that's another blog entry.

Clean bike? If you are recreational rider who likes doing long, charity rides or you simply spend longer rides with bottles of sport drinks and other nonwater liquids in your bottles, chances are you have dribbled some of that sugary substance when putting your bottles back into their cages. Check your frame, particularly on the very bottom, underneath and below where your bottles are stored. Build-up from this can gum up your shifting cables and create slugglish shifting or worse, can cause a cable to snap. Use a mild solution of Simple Green and gently sponge this area until that build-up is dissolved and can be rinsed away.

A good diagnostic bike shop is worth its weight in gold. After a recent trek up to the towers at South Mountain, a problem arose with my middle ring gear. I discovered with the help of a couple of Gilbert's Focus Cyclery riders who were also headed up to the top, that a gear tooth had bent and was causing my chain to slip. After that ride, I took my bike to the nearby shop and commuter support facility, The Bicycle Cellar in Tempe, to have it looked at. John Romero, shop owner and bicycle mechanic, reviewed the problem for me. Within a day, he was able to repair the gear tooth and cleaned and lubed my drive train. It was also he who noticed the build-up of drink run off and promptly cleaned it up. The next ride proved to be terrific with amazingly smooth and noiseless shifting.

For more cycling information, especially for newer riders, subscribe to Girlsgoneriding blog.
Tomorrow's post: Get yourself ready for summer cycling.