This weekend was simply amazing. I finally picked up my bike (Giant Liv Avail 1) from Spiral Cycles in Ashford on Saturday. The guys at the shop were great and recommended some local cycling clubs to me to check out. They helped me to kit out my bike with bottle holders (white, of course, to match the bike), an under seat bag for essentials, and a set of lights. I went for a more expensive bright front light (200 lumens) because a lot of my cycling will be in the evenings on the way home from work. Sadly, it will soon be getting very dark in the early evenings but I'll still want to get out training! How do cyclists normally manage that?
So, anyway. The best thing about my bike is that it is Finnish flag colours! I grew up in Finland and I am half Finnish so I guess I liked that.
I had read somewhere that the best thing to do when you get your new bike is to practice clipping in and out of the pedals at a park or on the flat. I practiced on this little bit of road by our house and Will snapped this photo. I was over the moon, goofy happy! But clipping in and out was easy - no problems at all, so I took the bike for a quick loop around the block before getting ready to go out.
The next day (after a slightly late night at our friend's pirate themed 30th birthday party), I decided to set off for a cycle. It would become my first proper cycle on my new bike. This cycle was about 43 miles - 21 miles or so one way to the pub for lunch and then I cycled back again. For a first cycle, I thought it wasn't that bad. Though I did wake up with a sore knee this morning!
My first impressions of road biking as I was cycling along:
1. Wooooaaaah! This is so fast!
2. Who put that hill there? That hill is definitely not there when I drive to work in the mornings.
3. Ouch! Pothole.
4. Was that the seventh fly I just inhaled?
5. Yay, down hill! But oh... I have to cycle up this later...
6. This is MUCH more fun than mountain biking. So much faster!
7. Potholes are more difficult to avoid when cars are so close!
8. I wonder how many times I'll have to cycle today's cycle to make it up to 930miles (Land's End to John O'Groats)
9. Wish I had some music. Do people even listen to music when they cycle?
10. Best day. Ever!
Tomorrow I plan to cycle home from work. I am a teacher and (newly) a KS4 Coordinator. So I am super busy getting everything ready for our lovely year 11's at the moment. But I am determined to find time for training and I will post up a training log on the weekend of my week.
See you out there!
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