Bike Riding
I took my Christmas present road bike out for its first good ride on the highway. (I've ridden a good bit in a park near our house, but never out on roads that actually go somewhere.)
Armed only with our helmets and sunglasses, my running buddy and I struck out today and actually went somewhere. We rode across the Cooper River Bridge, and then around the old village in Mt. Pleasant. On our way back, we decided to do what real bikers do and stopped at a little bakery for a muffin and a warm drink. (We did in fact NEED a warm drink, since the beautiful spring weather we've been having disappeared just in time for Easter to give us highs today only in the 50s, so by the time we got to the cafe, we really needed to thaw out our toes and fingers.)
Then the fun began. While we were riding around the old village, the wind decided to shift directions. (On our ride out on the bridge, we were riding almost, but not quite, into the wind.) And on our way back, we were riding up a rather steep hill, directly INTO the wind (that's right-we were riding into the wind going both directions. Nice huh?). I should have known it it would be a struggle when the electronic sign at the bottom warned cars about a high wind advisory.
And then it was a struggle. We were going soo slowly. I knew it was bad when a runner jogged past us. (No kidding. To our credit, though, I say he was really booking it, because getting passed on your bike by a slow runner would be WAY too embarrassing.) Then we almost got blown over at the top. On the downhill, I couldn't even coast the wind was blowing so bad. I still had to pedal the entire way.
But we didn't get hit by any cars, and I didn't accidentally brake with the wrong hand and get thrown over the handlebars either off the bridge or into oncoming traffic, which is what I was picturing this morning in my head before I got up. So I'd call our ride a success.
(And here we are, looking very sporty. That's me on the left, and Erin on the right.)
Armed only with our helmets and sunglasses, my running buddy and I struck out today and actually went somewhere. We rode across the Cooper River Bridge, and then around the old village in Mt. Pleasant. On our way back, we decided to do what real bikers do and stopped at a little bakery for a muffin and a warm drink. (We did in fact NEED a warm drink, since the beautiful spring weather we've been having disappeared just in time for Easter to give us highs today only in the 50s, so by the time we got to the cafe, we really needed to thaw out our toes and fingers.)
Then the fun began. While we were riding around the old village, the wind decided to shift directions. (On our ride out on the bridge, we were riding almost, but not quite, into the wind.) And on our way back, we were riding up a rather steep hill, directly INTO the wind (that's right-we were riding into the wind going both directions. Nice huh?). I should have known it it would be a struggle when the electronic sign at the bottom warned cars about a high wind advisory.
And then it was a struggle. We were going soo slowly. I knew it was bad when a runner jogged past us. (No kidding. To our credit, though, I say he was really booking it, because getting passed on your bike by a slow runner would be WAY too embarrassing.) Then we almost got blown over at the top. On the downhill, I couldn't even coast the wind was blowing so bad. I still had to pedal the entire way.
But we didn't get hit by any cars, and I didn't accidentally brake with the wrong hand and get thrown over the handlebars either off the bridge or into oncoming traffic, which is what I was picturing this morning in my head before I got up. So I'd call our ride a success.
(And here we are, looking very sporty. That's me on the left, and Erin on the right.)
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