Thursday, January 14, 2010

Mountaineer

I am no mountain biker by any means. I ride an older styled beach cruiser that squeaks and whines...........something that has definitely seen better days.

Last night I decided to venture out on a bike ride with my dad and brother. We were riding along the canal, going between paved and dirt roads when we came across some serious washboard looking mounds. I decided to test my bikes ability (as well as my own, wink-wink) and rode over a few of the mounds. They were a little more bumpy than I was expecting and I nearly flew out of my seat as my feet bounced off the peddles! From behind me I heard my dad exclaim, "What are you DOING?" I couldn't help but laugh at what I must have looked like as my Gilligan legs shot out to the sides.

A little farther down my brother and I came to a large hill we wanted to go down that led into a park. Just know that it was very dark out AND there was a lake at the bottom of the hill. My brother tore off on his mountain bike down the hill and I watched as he purposefully came to a fishtailed stop right before the waters edge. I was feeling rather brave and decided to follow suit. Halfway down I decided to do a random brake check. Despite hitting them hard I was still chugging down the hill..............headed directly for the waters edge. Rather than pull a wide arc to prevent riding into the lake I decided to pull my brothers move. Upon nearing the water I slammed on my brakes and felt pleasure race through me as I felt my back tire give a baby fishtail before I came to a complete stop. My brother laughed at the petite sound my fishtail made but I was thrilled just to be on my feet and not on the ground.

With an old beach cruiser like mine, if you don't push, you don't go. I think I had to work harder just to keep up with the boys last night so it's no wonder my legs felt like jello after our 8 mile bike ride. My buns are extremely sore today. I either need to add about 10 pounds directly to my toosh or I need to wrap my seat in bubble wrap.

I think I'll opt for bubble wrap. :)

No comments: