For the Novice-What You Need to Get Started

As a soon-to-be 46 year old woman, I find the search for a new bike a bit intimidating. In a sport dominated by men, mostly young men, I admit to being self conscious as I go around to the various bike shops in my quest for a more suitable ride. Luckily, I'm apparently not the only woman in my age bracket out there riding and the bike shops I've frequented have all been good experiences. I especially like Mike's Bikes in San Rafael and City Cycle (two locations, San Francisco and San Anselmo). Both shops have shown incredible patience with me and my endless questions and I've been extremely happy with all of my purchases. (I should note that Sports Basement has good bargains on cycling attire). I have decided my new bike will come from one of these shops and it will all depend on if I go Trek or Specialized.

If you are also new to cycling, and are a woman, I highly recommend the book "Every Woman's Guide to Cycling" by Selene Yeager. It is clear and concise and answered all my newbie questions and then some. I really liked the section on finding the right bike. This book helped me decide that what I really want and need is a road bike, not another hybrid (so difficult for this Sagittarius to commit, but that's another post). If you are really new, and not sure this is something you will stick with, I recommend testing several types of bikes then buying a used one. A good used bike will last a long time. My Trek hybrid is about 15 years old and still going! I got it off of craigslist for a few hundred bucks.

In my opinion, what you need to get started bike riding is simple and doesn't have to cost thousands:

1. a bike in good working condition-have it properly fitted at your local bike store...a poor fitting bike makes for a poor ride

2. a helmet!

3. a water bottle and holder

4. basic road safety...know how to signal, brake safely, pass, etc. Start out slow in a quiet parking lot to practice, if need be

5. cycling shorts or tights-these have the padding that makes riding so much more comfortable! If you don't want to invest now, you can really ride in anything...I rode in my yoga pants for months (make sure you secure any loose fabric!) until it became clear my rear would appreciate some extra padding.

6. lights -if you will be riding at dawn/dusk/dark

Numbers 1-4 are the bare minimum you need to get started. Once you get out there, use your gears to make it easier to go uphill (so many don't do this!?), keep a steady rhythm of pedaling (called "cadence"), drink enough fluid, eat some protein afterwards and enjoy! As you get more into cycling, you will probably want more appropriate gear (jersey, jacket that whicks away sweat, odometer to track your miles, gloves...and even...dare I say it? the shoes!).

I actually found myself at Sports Basement the other day buying a cycling magazine. It felt like I was buying porn. I felt the cashier knew I was a novice, and who did I think I was? LOL

Put it in Quotations

(scene from one of my 6:30am commutes...sun rising over San Francisco)

Just read me some Joseph Campbell.

“If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”

As you might have surmised, I really like quotes. They really put an exclamation point on a condition or situation. There are a lot of people quoting stuff in the yoga/metaphysical world and many people reading these quotes are brought to a new level of awareness. Yes, all this from a quote! If one starts practicing yoga regularly, one is forced to explore the inside, which leads to a desire to expand one's knowledge of that oft times unexplored terrain. An applicable quote, at a synchronistic moment, is the perfect springboard to self discovery and personal growth.

But, what does this have to do with cycling? For me, cycling has become just another form of yoga. They complement each other perfectly. Where yoga grounds me, cycling forces me to let go; where yoga brings the focus to a fine point, cycling expands that focus in seemingly infinite directions; where yoga gives an awareness of self, cycling gives an awareness of all that is; where yoga is steady stillness, cycling is steady speed.

Just as the lessons explored on the mat, can be applied off the mat, the same can be said for cycling. It's easy to follow Bliss on a bike and each time I get off I feel, "I've arrived."

Open Road

John Muir had it right:


"When I picked up the trail of one thing I realized it was hitched to the rest of the world."

I Draw the Line at the Shoes...well, sort of

There is a whole cycling fashion out there that I was totally unaware of. I am pretty much a yoga 'fashion' person...I am most comfortable in yoga pants and loose tank tops (I refuse to succumb to the lululemon craze) but the cycling gear is very tight fitting! I must say that it is more comfortable and I'm getting used to it. I now have a long sleeved jersey with matching light weight jacket in hot pink with swirling Hawaiian type flowers. I never wear pink but now I actually have a whole outfit going...and it's sort of cool. I think it helps me ride better.

I did draw the line at shoes...cycling shoes, come on! Who wears velcro but toddlers? Well, but...then I saw a cute pair at Sports Basement and they DO serve a purpose...I bet I will ride better with them.

I'm also meeting other cyclists. I've been asked out to ride with some serious cyclists (I will pass until I have my new bike). The guys at the bike shop talk to me like I know what the heck I need in a bike and I understand the difference between a triple crank and compact (well, I do). I'm learning lingo and what cycling component does what. I told you. It is out of control. But this new world on my bike is amazing. As I fly across the Golden Gate, the sun setting, the headlands glowing and SF sparkling in the crispness of fall, it's this very feeling of freedom that gets my sore ass back on the bike each day.

Nothing New

This bike riding business is nothing new. I've been riding a bike since, well, forever...and before that, my parents would ride me around Golden Gate Park in one of those antiquated kid seats (nothing like what you see today, with the enclosed compartment, orange flag, reflectors, buckles and fasteners...)...Hell, I don't think we were even strapped in, and certainly helmets were not a consideration...but here I sit, still alive. I"ve had many bikes in my 45 years...from a banana seat single speed to my first 'real' 10 speed...a Univega.

In 2000, I bought a used Trek 7500 multitrack hybrid for the occasional weekend ride. Those rides became fewer and far between as life got in the way. Last summer, I was determined to renew our relationship. With new tires, brakes and a tune up, I began to 'train' for my 10 mile round trip commute to school. This is the only way I have been able to get any exercise, as teaching is all consuming (sorry yoga! I simply can't make 6pm class during the week). Now I'm riding 3, 4 days a week and longer rides on the weekends in Marin. It's getting out of control. I bought bike gloves with a cute design, those diaper shorts (you need that padding, let me tell you!), a cool bike shirt with back pockets and an even cooler bike "pannier" that attaches to my rear rack. There are more accoutrements to come, I fear, and I found myself glancing at a few 'tours'...one involved Napa and wine...how hard can THAT be? I'm also shopping around for a new bike that is lighter and quicker for the road, without being a full on road bike (I'm down to choosing between a Trek FX 7.5 or a Marin Lucas Valley...kind of tough...Lance won 7 times on a Trek, but then Marin...well, all things Marin are the best....

So here I am, actually blogging about this rediscovered, childhood activity-and, if you got this far, are actually reading about it...but hey, I rode 28 miles so far this week. Can I reach 60?

Attraction

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I suppose that was what attracted me to the bicycle right from the start. It is not so much a way of getting somewhere as it is a setting for randomness; it makes every journey an unorganized tour.

--- Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles, Chapter 5