I hope that what happened during my first experience on the road with my new bike did not foreshadow events that will occur on the bike trip this summer. I pedaled all through March break hooked up to my dad’s “bike trainer”, watching invigorating movies such as Lord of The Rings and Braveheart in order to keep up my motivation for hours at a time in our drab, cold basement. Since the snow and salt on the roads in Northern New Hampshire prevented outdoor riding, I returned to school with Hobbit-songs stuck in my head and a newfound resolve to use all of my free time for training OUTSIDE. However, the excitement of crew and senior spring took over, and I found myself 7 weeks out from the start of our trip without having ridden. Naturally, when an hour of time opened up between classes and sports last Tuesday, I jumped on the opportunity to take a spin outside.
Let me set the scene for you: 87 degrees, little wind, humid. I ran back to my dorm after lunch to check my tires only to discover my front wheel lacking considerable air pressure. My first opportunity to pump up my tires! A few pumps in, I heard a loud hissing sound, and the tire went flat… I popped the tire. Thanks to the preparation of others (I’m giving the credit completely to my dad on this), my bike pouch contained a spare tire and within a few minutes, I was out on the road. The heat was barely noticeable with the wind in my face, and the first half of a 40-minute ride was flawless: I even almost broke the speed limit on a slight downhill.
About 3 miles out from the finish, I unexpectedly encountered a dirt road. But the battlefield of spikes and rocks couldn’t hinder me in my obligation to get to crew practice on time, and I rode through it. The next challenge didn’t come from the outside environment but rather from the bike itself. Powering up a long hill, I found it harder and harder to get the leverage I needed in order to keep my wheels moving. When I reached the top and tried to carry my speed down the other side, I realized my seat had fallen into the seat post, and I now mimicked an overgrown adult on a child’s bike. I felt like Dorothy’s evil neighbor from the Wizard of Oz, you know, the one that gets accompanied by the “dun da dun da dunn dunn” music. Well, apparently the person driving the maroon Chevy Impala in front of me didn’t hear me singing, or see my goofy-stance on the bike, and became a bit over-zealous in his reverse driving. Thank god for good brakes. I would have been little more than a speed bump under a tire. As it was, I didn’t make a big deal out of the situation, but a very vocal Concord biker behind me had other ideas and volleyed a few well-chosen curses in the driver’s direction.
Overall, it was an eventful first ride… I expanded my vocabulary (thank you, random biker), and I was introduced to just a few of the unseen dilemmas that are sure to pop up along our 7-week trip. We will all have to be prepared for dirt roads, popped tires, broken chains, and bad drivers along the way, and I’m grateful for scenarios like this past Tuesday… it’s all in preparation for the long journey ahead of us.
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