First Ride

I stood outside my house watching my breath come up in front of my face, a warm haze of vapor in a climate dominated by cold. My heart was racing nearly as fast as my brain, and my stomach felt something akin to a first date. Snow slowly fell from the sky, occasionally, enough to remind me that it's still winter, and I'm still a bit crazy.

Walking over to the bike I was running through the checklist in my mind: does my back hurt? Nope. Is my leg numb? Nope. Is my leg cramping? Nope, is that a cramp? Nope, don't think so. You sure - it might be! Nope no cramps. Walking over to the bike any number of scenarios ran through my head. My favorites:

• I would immediately find that my legs are no longer able to pedal, and the world would end
• I would start down the street only to find that the bike is falling apart under me due to neglect, and the world would end
• I would fall spectacularly on ice even with the new Nokians, and I'd have something to blog about
• It would be a normal, good, and slow ride to work

Lifting my leg over the bike I realized I probably should have stretched, but that's just fine - regardless of (constant) warning I never do. One foot on the pedal, hands on the handlebars I took a deep breath and pushed off... about as awkwardly as I did the first time I was ever on a bike, I'd imagine.

My first patch of ice greeted me about 15 seconds into the ride and all I could think was "oh awesome now I'm going to fall and never be able to bike again and break my bike all at the same time!" Problem is.. it didn't happen.

In fact, the whole way there, while painfully slow (~12-13mph average for the 5.5 mile trip) was completely and entirely uneventful. Nokians are fantastic, if terribly slow and heavy and 40psi under a guy who never runs less than 80 - but - I'll take it. Glare ice came up out of nowhere and I positioned myself for the fall, only to feel the occasional slip-n-catch of the studs. I'm a convert, and am goona ride these things until May (or.. Mid-April) even if it is slow, slow, slow going. If you want to simulate riding on gravel on.. pavement.. then pick up a set of Nokians and air 'em up to about 40psi. That will give a pretty good approximation of sound and resistance, and ya know? Kinda fun!

Anyway, great commute in, and now the car is where it should be - at the back of the parking lot at work just kind of hangin' out. Where it shall stay as a backup for the bike, rather than the opposite way around. All I can think of on this cold, dreary, wintry day is that life is good. Very, very, very good.