First Ride Back in the Saddle

Over the weekend, I experienced my first ride on a bicycle in over six weeks. I didn't think it was possible to go that long without riding a bike, but when one is consumed 15+ hours a day and doesn't really leave the home premises, it's actually quite easy to watch the days and very soon thereafter the weeks fly by without touching a bike.

On Saturday, we decided that we needed a break from home renovation and made an early morning dash for kickboxing (which has also been neglected for about the same amount of time). I was running behind so Sam had pulled the bikes out to the front of the house, and when I saw the Hillborne sitting there so beautifully with just a slight amount of dust gracing the untouched surfaces, I couldn't help but smile. I was genuinely so excited to be able to actually get on a bicycle again!

I expected to get on the Hillborne and find that same level of comfort that I always do when riding that bike, but I was surprised to feel that something felt very wrong. I knew I had strains from the physical labor we've been completing over the weeks, but I found that something just didn't seem to feel right. I should've realized that it was just due to lack of ride time because as we pedaled, I began to feel my way back into the bike and all was suddenly well again.

Pedaling was extremely slow, but I swear I rode the entire distance to class with a stupid, ridiculously big grin on my face. It felt good to lock the bike up again outside of kickboxing and even though the temperatures were quite cold that morning, I was just happy to be out and on two wheels again.

Class was, of course, completely difficult to get through and after a brutal reintroduction, Sam and I decided that we needed to have breakfast before returning home. So, we pedaled a little more and popped into one of our favorite breakfast stops for a quick bite, at which point we made the realization that we were missing some items for our weekend renovation project. Since a home improvement store wasn't too much additional distance and we had the capability to carry what we needed on our bikes, we pedaled on over to complete that task as well.

By the time we returned home, we'd probably pedaled no more than about 8 mi/13 km, but I was surprisingly beat. I know there were a variety of factors involved beyond the bike ride itself (I hadn't slept much the night before, the weather was quite cold, and we'd just had an hour long, tough workout), but I was surprised to feel it so much... and yet, I still couldn't let go of my excitement about being on a bike once again.

I hope that I never have to go this long without riding a bicycle again, but it's nice to know that even with some time apart, I still have the same love and appreciation for transporting myself on two wheels. What is the longest amount of time you've had to be away from your bike or been unable to ride? Did you have a period of readjustment when returning, or were you able to pick up where you left off?