This is the picture before the melt down... yes you heard right... Who would have thought... I mean this bike was perfect!! I planned on going faster than the speed of light with it.
I had no idea how different the brakes, gears and a very light weight bike would be to ride. Isn't it like riding a bike??
When I got my new bike I was so anxious to ride it because I was sure it was going to be a breeze. I had no idea the brakes would be so different and the gears... I was clueless how they worked. I was schooled on them prior to the ride but there was so much information that I really couldn't make sense of it when I was actually riding.
With a road bike the handlebars are so different. Where I want to put my hands and where the brakes are, seem miles apart. So when I have to stop, I only want to move one hand to brake which could potentially send me flying over the handlebars.
I managed to tremble along about one mile and then I had to stop. That's when that picture was taken. Yes, I had a smile because for the moment I had my feet flat on the ground.
Right after that, we headed out to ride a little further and I rode over a parallel crack that made my very skinny tires slip and that's when I started to panic. where we were going next was down a big hill. On my safe bike I loved going down a big hill a million miles an hour. Now, all I thought about was barreling down to the bottom and not being able to figure out the brakes.
I just couldn't do it... something I don't say very often, but I was petrified and I just couldn't do it. This time unlike others in the past, I walked my bike down the hill. Sadly, after just one mile I had decided my ride was done. I knew I had to make it back to where I started so I just stood there trying to convince myself I could do it. The longer I stood there and thought about getting back on, the more the tears began to well up. Yep, that was when the melt down happened.
After a couple minutes I knew I had to get back on just to make it back to my car and it was the longest mile I ever rode.
I went home and asked myself why I did this when my other bike was so safe. I was thinking about just putting the new bike away until I become more brave, but when was that??
I discovered there is an option to help with the braking until I get confident with the traditional road bike brakes. They make in-line brakes that go on the top bars where I feel most comfortable holding on, so I called the bike shop but the soonest I could get them would be five days later. I figured my bike might go into hibernation while I wait.
Then it hit me that this wasn't like me to quit so easily,
so I took my bike to a huge empty parking lot and rode it around for about a half an hour. It kind of reminded me of learning to drive a stick shift with my first car; my dad took me to an empty parking lot and we drove from one end to the other, back and forth until I got it.
When I was done I still wasn't very comfortable yet, but if I was to quit now I might never go back to my new found love, and I can't let that happen.
I hope one day I'll be saying " remember way back... when I chickened out on my bike?? What was I thinking!?"
Have a great day!!
Christine:)
