Lexa love <3
let's skip talking about the past week at work, shall we? there are more important things to talk about.
like my new baby 2014 Trek Lexa SL. 8)
i picked her (YES THE BIKE IS A SHE) up yesterday after going back and forth between three bike shops for 2+ weeks. :) i swear, buying a "sports" bicycle for the first time is like buying your first car. it took 2 hours from start to finish, including picking out a few accessories, despite having devoted a lot of time to deciding what accessories i would get prior. unlike purchasing an everyday bike, the bike had to be fitted specifically for me and then i was given a brief Cycling & Maintenance 101, although i'll attend a proper cycling noobs' class in a couple weeks. the store's staff, particularly S-san who i'd been speaking with over the past few weeks, were all very nice and helpful which aided in my decision to purchase from the store. they even wanted to take a photo of me & my bike to post on their blog... ^^;
anyway, during the 2 hours that i was there i was invited to join in on a group ride for beginners the following day (today). i was really anxious about doing a group ride straight out of the gate because: a) i've never ridden a road bike at all before and b) i knew that there would be lots of experienced cyclists around even if they would eventually be going elsewhere. either way, i decided to go as even if i ended up embarrassing myself in front of the pros, what better time to ride for the first time in an unfamiliar place than when there will be someone else there to suggest where to go and to help me should i stumble?
so this morning i woke up at 5:30am despite having been utterly exhausted & suffering from a migraine the night before as the ride started at 8am and was in Hitachi, 30km/19 miles away. arriving at the meeting spot, it was utterly freezing but otherwise a nice day. picture 20 cyclists gathered in a parking lot decked out in their skin tight cycling gear when it's 5c/41f outside. actually, the store blogged about it so you can see 20 cyclists freezing their asses off lol.
that's fuckin' dedication.
i have no idea how they do it, but apparently they do it every Sunday.
anyway, i felt like a total and complete noob unloading my Lexa out of the car... i swear all eyes were on me for some reason or another! everyone was nice, though... :x once everyone was there, we did a bit of exercise together as a group before heading off our separate ways (the MTB group went one way, the Roadies another). the noobie group consisted of me, S-san (the nice lady (turned friend?) who'd assisted me at the bike shop) and another beginner, A-chan (see below). S-san led the way coaching mostly me along the way as this was A-chan's second ride.
the route:
about 15km/9 miles (30km/18 miles round trip) on a bike way that runs along the Kuji River in Hitachi. it was a great ride-- very scenic (ie. lots of rural/inaka Japan) with mostly level ground. i have to admit that going was MUCH harder than coming. for one, at 5c/41cm it was hard to keep feeling in my fingers and toes! ;( plus it was just generally freakin' cold and even though there was no wind at all, whizzing around on a road bike means cold air went whizzing past as if there was a constant breeze and that was really numbing... additionally, my ass started feeling the stiffness of the seat early on and my legs became a bit jelly-like at times...! however, after about an hour of riding things (including myself) started warming up and my legs somehow responded making the ride back much faster and more enjoyable. on the way back i was cruising at 20kmh/13mph without much effort. :)
about riding on a road bike for the first time.... WOW. it is such a totally different experience from any other bike i have ever ridden. obviously the riding position is entirely different, but on top of that the field of view is as well. when i'm on my road bike my field of view is higher than it is in a car! also, maybe i've just always ridden my previous bikes wrong (actually, i know that to be the case), but getting on and off a road bike is entirely different, too. the seat is so damn high that even getting on and off it takes practice! and then there's the speed...! never has it been so easy to ride so fast! 20kmh/13mph was nothing and maintaining that speed was effortless! i mean, if i can get that kind of speed on my first ride when my legs are total shit, imagine the future... imagine how far i could go! *eyes glaze over* but there is a disadvantage to going so fast.... taking turns and going downhill can be EXTREMELY SCARY. omg, some of the turns and hills we went on today.... no effort at all for someone who knows what they were doing, but i could've shit myself at least once going down a hill at like 40kmh/25mph with a turn straight after. D;
anyway, yeah...... i love my bike! i love cycling!!! i cant wait to do it more and more and go farther and farther and faster and faster.... my goals in buying a road bike are to travel around Japan by bike & train/bus (ie. to 輪行/rinko, as they call it in Japan) and to gain access to lesser known places in Japan. i want to be able to pack up my bike and board a train with it in Hitachinaka, get off a train in some other city and zoom around everywhere exploring the things that would be much more inaccessible or much more costly to access without a bike. i've already bought various books and guides to this end and the more i practice the more i can see myself realizing my goals. :)
even though i'll be dirt broke for the next 6 weeks, unable to afford anything other than noodles and rice stuff even for Christmas and New Years, i couldn't be happier. at least i'll be out and about freezing my ass off enjoying a new found passion.
like my new baby 2014 Trek Lexa SL. 8)
i picked her (YES THE BIKE IS A SHE) up yesterday after going back and forth between three bike shops for 2+ weeks. :) i swear, buying a "sports" bicycle for the first time is like buying your first car. it took 2 hours from start to finish, including picking out a few accessories, despite having devoted a lot of time to deciding what accessories i would get prior. unlike purchasing an everyday bike, the bike had to be fitted specifically for me and then i was given a brief Cycling & Maintenance 101, although i'll attend a proper cycling noobs' class in a couple weeks. the store's staff, particularly S-san who i'd been speaking with over the past few weeks, were all very nice and helpful which aided in my decision to purchase from the store. they even wanted to take a photo of me & my bike to post on their blog... ^^;
anyway, during the 2 hours that i was there i was invited to join in on a group ride for beginners the following day (today). i was really anxious about doing a group ride straight out of the gate because: a) i've never ridden a road bike at all before and b) i knew that there would be lots of experienced cyclists around even if they would eventually be going elsewhere. either way, i decided to go as even if i ended up embarrassing myself in front of the pros, what better time to ride for the first time in an unfamiliar place than when there will be someone else there to suggest where to go and to help me should i stumble?
so this morning i woke up at 5:30am despite having been utterly exhausted & suffering from a migraine the night before as the ride started at 8am and was in Hitachi, 30km/19 miles away. arriving at the meeting spot, it was utterly freezing but otherwise a nice day. picture 20 cyclists gathered in a parking lot decked out in their skin tight cycling gear when it's 5c/41f outside. actually, the store blogged about it so you can see 20 cyclists freezing their asses off lol.
that's fuckin' dedication.
i have no idea how they do it, but apparently they do it every Sunday.
anyway, i felt like a total and complete noob unloading my Lexa out of the car... i swear all eyes were on me for some reason or another! everyone was nice, though... :x once everyone was there, we did a bit of exercise together as a group before heading off our separate ways (the MTB group went one way, the Roadies another). the noobie group consisted of me, S-san (the nice lady (turned friend?) who'd assisted me at the bike shop) and another beginner, A-chan (see below). S-san led the way coaching mostly me along the way as this was A-chan's second ride.
the route:
about 15km/9 miles (30km/18 miles round trip) on a bike way that runs along the Kuji River in Hitachi. it was a great ride-- very scenic (ie. lots of rural/inaka Japan) with mostly level ground. i have to admit that going was MUCH harder than coming. for one, at 5c/41cm it was hard to keep feeling in my fingers and toes! ;( plus it was just generally freakin' cold and even though there was no wind at all, whizzing around on a road bike means cold air went whizzing past as if there was a constant breeze and that was really numbing... additionally, my ass started feeling the stiffness of the seat early on and my legs became a bit jelly-like at times...! however, after about an hour of riding things (including myself) started warming up and my legs somehow responded making the ride back much faster and more enjoyable. on the way back i was cruising at 20kmh/13mph without much effort. :)
about riding on a road bike for the first time.... WOW. it is such a totally different experience from any other bike i have ever ridden. obviously the riding position is entirely different, but on top of that the field of view is as well. when i'm on my road bike my field of view is higher than it is in a car! also, maybe i've just always ridden my previous bikes wrong (actually, i know that to be the case), but getting on and off a road bike is entirely different, too. the seat is so damn high that even getting on and off it takes practice! and then there's the speed...! never has it been so easy to ride so fast! 20kmh/13mph was nothing and maintaining that speed was effortless! i mean, if i can get that kind of speed on my first ride when my legs are total shit, imagine the future... imagine how far i could go! *eyes glaze over* but there is a disadvantage to going so fast.... taking turns and going downhill can be EXTREMELY SCARY. omg, some of the turns and hills we went on today.... no effort at all for someone who knows what they were doing, but i could've shit myself at least once going down a hill at like 40kmh/25mph with a turn straight after. D;
anyway, yeah...... i love my bike! i love cycling!!! i cant wait to do it more and more and go farther and farther and faster and faster.... my goals in buying a road bike are to travel around Japan by bike & train/bus (ie. to 輪行/rinko, as they call it in Japan) and to gain access to lesser known places in Japan. i want to be able to pack up my bike and board a train with it in Hitachinaka, get off a train in some other city and zoom around everywhere exploring the things that would be much more inaccessible or much more costly to access without a bike. i've already bought various books and guides to this end and the more i practice the more i can see myself realizing my goals. :)
even though i'll be dirt broke for the next 6 weeks, unable to afford anything other than noodles and rice stuff even for Christmas and New Years, i couldn't be happier. at least i'll be out and about freezing my ass off enjoying a new found passion.