Lets ask Santa!!

     This time of year the last thing most people are thinking about is riding a bike; it's way too cold! Capital "C" old! Remember the Bike trail I loved to ride on just a couple of months ago??  Here it is now; YIKES!!  

Thanks for the snow:)

This looks like a bad hair day, but the 100 mile an hour wind and 20 degrees is the culprit, BRRR!!

I think I'll start a new trend!

     Yes it's cold now, but it won't be long before I begin begging for kind people to join my team for the Bike-To-The-Bay, and maybe Santa could help us out:)  

     If you're like me, you may (or may not) have a functioning bike, but none of the much needed gadgets to make the ride safer.  By now you've seen I have my helmet and over anything else that is the most important thing to have.  I take that back... you first need a functional bike, and then comes the helmet... (the chicken or the egg?!)  

     Of course, I'm asking Santa for lots of team members too, and I sure hope he comes through:)  So if you've been considering riding in the BTTB come spring this might be the nudge you need to take that "leap" with me. Just ask Santa!

     My official begging is a short ways off but it can't hurt to get you thinking, and in the mean time, I'll cross my fingers:)


Have a great day!

Christine:) 
     

Trading a motor for peddles

     

   What "biking" means to one person may not mean the same to another.   When I think of biking I know I'm giving my legs a real workout.

     My brother Doug thinks of "biking" in a whole different light.  The only workout his legs are getting is to start his motorcycle engine.  Not in a million years would I expect him to get on a bicycle again, but you know me, I just keep talking.


     I was super excited about riding in the Bike-To-The-Bay and I had to tell my brother and his family all about it.  His wife Billie said "Doug, let's ride in it!"  To which Doug replied "let's talk about it".  What a nice gesture, but I knew it was just that, "a gesture", or was it??

     A couple of weeks later I was talking with Doug and Billie again, Doug said " guess what... We're riding!"  I smiled in disbelief.  He said "I'm serious!"  He was talking to a friend who rode in this event the past, after a few questions Doug was in. His friend said maybe he'll ride again too. So Doug started doing research to see what kind of bike he needs to do the ride, joined a gym and  now he's on his way.

Of course I had to meet him halfway too:)

     I may not be able to solve world peace but I may get a few people back on their bikes.  It's a safe bet that Doug has no intention of scrapping his motorcycle, but I do believe next spring he'll be trading his motor in for peddles.



Have a great day!

Christine:) 

Working smarter, not harder

   If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's to do the things you're capable of, and rely on the kindness of others to help you with the things that are beyond your reach.  Of course, I always try to help others in need when possible, and the "pay it forward" method seems to be a great way to live.



     The day I planned to take my bike in for a tune up my son Matt happened to be around.  I've tried loading my bike in the hatch of my car before and it put up quite a fight.  This time I decided to ask my son for help.  When I got to the shop a kind man also helped me unload it.  This system really seemed to be working.

     A few days later my bike was ready so I headed back to the shop.  As Terry from The Bike Route was wheeling my bike out to my car I asked him "Out of curiosity, is there a  secret to loading a bike without a struggle?"  He told me the best way was to load the back tire in first and the rest would follow, this way unloading it would be a breeze  (Who knew!) Of course once more I was fortunate to have it loaded in for me again.

     When I got home I thought to myself, I could continue to rely on the kindness of others but there will come a day when I'll be on my own and be forced to do it myself.  I may as well give his trick a try.   I grabbed the handlebars and low and behold, I pulled that baby out and I never even broke a sweat!  The next time it needed to be transported I loaded it in myself as well.

     I'll still continue to rely on the kindness of others when I have to and help them out when I can, but that day I learned a good lesson, and that is how to work smarter, not harder.

Have a great day!

Christine ☺ 

From comfort bike to endurance bike

   

The first thing I had to do if I was going to ride in the Bike-to-the-Bay was brush the cob webs off my bike.  It had been sitting on the back burner the past couple of years and it was time to bring it back to a boil with a professional tune-up.

     It really wasn’t that long ago that I bought my bike and at the time the salesman assured me this bike would serve all of my needs.  He called it a “comfort bike”, and it was meant to make my ride very comfortable while tooling around the neighborhood.  However, this event was a whole different ball of wax. The ride would test the endurance of my legs more than anything else.

      As is, my bike has a comfortable seat, big and cushy, and thick heavily treaded tires that make riding over bumps and pot holes seem almost like riding on cotton candy. Now riding a long distance is something entirely different.  It’s not about a cushy behind, but focusing on the core part of the ride, and that can be extremely taxing on my already crazy legs.

      The first thing I learned when I took my bike to The Bike Route for a tune up was though my tires were great at absorbing the shock, they took up more space on the road and would force me to work harder to go the same distance as if I had more narrow tires.  But it was also suggested that I wait and train on the wider tires and then trade them out closer to the ride, allowing me to build as much strength as possible.

     The Second thing I discovered was that the seat, however cushy, would make my legs work harder as well because the width would take away from the straight up and down motion and put more strain on the muscles, so I would also need to replace it with a slimmer style.

     I went in for a simple tune-up but came out armed with an abundance of information needed to turn my “comfort bike” into an “endurance bike”.

Stay tuned to see what else I needed to get started on my journey…

Have a great weekend!

Christine ☺