_The First Few Rides

 
I picked up my bike from Bill’s Cyclery in Woodside, NY on Saturday, August 13th. I rode the bike a round about way home for a first ride of about two and a half miles. I thought I was going to die. It was my first ride in at least 15 years. Probably closer to 20. It was kind of humorous. My first block was rather wobbly and the rest of the ride home was very cautious to put it lightly.

 
My next ride was better. I rode about 7.2 miles. Still felt like I was going to die, but, it also felt good. I started to feel more comfortable on the bike and started to understand a bit about riding in NYC.

 
My third ride was an adventure. My longest yet. I rode 8.84 miles and went out to Roosevelt Island. I wasn’t intending to ride out to the island, but, I was feeling good when I got to the bridge, so, I thought, why not (enter foreshadowing music here…)? The island was a beautiful ride. Great views of Queens and Manhattan, but, not the best ride. You share a path with pedestrians and runners and a lot of it’s that brick sidewalk type of path, so, it’s not the smoothest ride ever.

 
The way back was when I realized my mistake. Of course I felt great the when I got there. It was all downhill. Which also means that my way back was all uphill. I made it home, but, haven’t felt that spent in a long time.

 
My fourth ride was back to my original 7.2 mile path, but, I stretched it a bit longer. I rode all the way out 34th Avenue to the Grand Central Pkwy (basically out to where the Mets stadium/US Open Stadium is) for a total of 8.85 miles. .01 miles longer than my Roosevelt Island ride. I was tired when I got home, but, it felt great. This was a balance of up and down the whole way, so, it’s not as bad. Fun all the way around.

 
What I have noticed, though, is the way home. We apparently live at a higher level than most of the areas around us. So, it doesn’t really matter what direction I go, I’m going uphill back to the house. That means I’ve got to push it back up to the house.

 
All in all, I think from here on out for a while I’m going to take my last route to build up my body. It’s a good balance and there’s decent shade the whole way.

 
Final thoughts on my first few rides. I’m loving it. Absolutely loving it. Getting out there and riding is so relaxing (even in the midst of sucking air and feeling like you’re going to die sometimes). It’s such a great stress reliever and start to the day. Looking forward to getting better and better at it!