Thursday, February 5, 2015

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?

6 comments:

  1. Glad you got back on the bike. Six weeks is a long time! I've been off my bike since Saturday (stupid flu!), and I'm madly craving a ride.

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    1. It was a long time!! Holy cow. Still can't believe it was that long, but I was very happy to be on it again. I really dislike it when I have the flu and it's so tough to do much of anything. I hope you're feeling better now and you're back on the bike. :O)

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  2. Oh gosh, I'm currently going on two months. I've had a particularly difficult winter with a leg injury just before Christmas (which seems okay now), when roads were bare enough to still pedal. I'm getting over the cold from hell, but did manage to get out skiing for an hour yesterday. Now we're in a deep freeze with a mountain of snow. Cycling will just have to wait a bit longer.

    So glad to see you come up for air with your renovations and get a ride in.

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    1. Glad that your injury is doing better and hopefully you'll be riding yourself again soon. It's tough when the snow is deep to get out. We've had a very strange winter here thus far that started off extremely cold and snowy but has turned into almost late-spring type weather lately (for the last several weeks it seems). I'm not complaining because I'm enjoying waking up to warmer weather, but I'm sure we'll pay for it when things get hot and there's no water. But, we did get more than our fair share of water the summer prior, so I am hopeful that it's just leveling itself out. :O)

      Hopefully, injuries and sickness will leave you alone for a bit. Hope you're enjoying the winter activities too. :O)

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  3. It's hard to get out when the roads are nasty and the weather is frigid. I've been trying to make myself pedal inside, but with very little luck. I hope to get out over the weekend, if the snow leaves us alone. Congrats on finally getting out - isn't it nice to see the outside once in a while?

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    1. It is FANTASTIC to get outside once in awhile. :O) It is tough when the weather is so frigid and the roads aren't suitable. We're preparing for a round this weekend and I feel I haven't enjoyed the nice few days enough.

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