Get On Your Bike!

So I bought a bike from a friend earlier this year.  And it's a good bike this time, no more straight handle bars for me.  I have a little secret, I suck on the bike.  I am not trying to be modest, I really suck at it.  I have this fear of falling, and my previous bike was not a very good one.  My solution?  Get a better bike, and train for a 100 mile bike ride. 

It has been a little slow going, with the marathon training and all.  But now I have no excuse, I have a great bike, I have pedals, and I have shoes that have clips that should affix to my pedals.  And thanks to the guys at Schlegel's, which happens to be right across the street from my work, I have the $2 fix so that I can actually air up my tires.  I might just throw up now.

I was never a kid that could ride their bike without their hands, or jump things with my bike, or do anything other than keep my hands on the handle bars and ride.  Now I have a bike, with who knows how many gears, two bottle holders (TWO!  Not that I would ever take my hands off my handle bars to drink those bottles of water.), shoes and clips, and I will be borrowing a real pair of bike shorts.  Biking is not cheap, I have learned.  Now I just have to face my fears and get on it and learn how to do it correctly. 

Running really seems so simple, just me and a pair of shoes.    Well I do have to have special socks, and I do have a tendency to loose toenails.  But other than that it's simple.  At least I have friends that are good at biking and won't laugh at me too much as I learn.  My philosophy is that if you want to get better at something then train with someone that is better than you.  This has worked for my running, now it just has to work for my biking.

First up though is the OU Medicine Corporate Challenge.  This is our second year competing and I am very excited about it.  I am pretty nervous about my events though.  I've got the women's mile on Friday night.  I thought a 5k was a sprint, what does that make a mile?  I hope I don't embarrass myself too bad.  Then on Saturday it's the 55 meter dash.  Really?  55 meters is not a far enough distance for me to get up to any kind of speed, and trust me I am not known for my speediness.  Endurance, insanity, and missing toenails mostly.  Then the 10k on Sunday morning, which since the marathon I have run 5.5 miles once, and I can probably count on my two hands how many times I have run since then.  Finally, the women's relay on Sunday afternoon.  What are the chances I get to run one of the 100 meter legs?  Probably slim to none.

It's my birthday on Saturday, so I'll be a year older and wiser, maybe.  Here's to hoping that as a 37-year-old, I'll become known for my biking.