Two rides entry.....

Last week I went on a beginner ride in Long Beach—it supposed to be an easy 12 miles.. Within the first couple of minutes, I noticed I was having difficulty riding my bike—the tires seemed too tight. I have been riding at home on the bike trainer and I didn’t experience that. Then again, I was just in place. Anyhow, at a stop, I feel bad on my right side- on top of my bike. It seems as if accidents follow me, I started to loose motivation to even continue riding; I was with Sheri, who inspected my bike. She noticed that my back tires were too tight. She tried to adjust them, but my back tire just would not “roll”. Luckily, there was a bike shop in Long Beach- anyhow… they took, while to open, but after looking at my bike, there was a broken stoke, and then tires needed some truing.

After being fixed, I thought we would not ride.; we were so behind from the group but Sheri said we should at least meet them. Little did I know, that the first ride was IN (busy) TRAFFIC, on an overpass, on a curving street with no bike lane. I was fricken nervous. First, I was discouraged from the fall, and now I am in an unfamiliar surrounding- it’s not just the empty parking lot at Griffith Park.

I went ahead and rode—it was a good ride; I was nervous and felt my bike shaking a lot (I told myself it was shaking due to my nervousness). We ended meeting the group and came back.. the funny part was my last turn—to the right.. I had mentioned many times before that I just had a difficult turning right… well I was about to make a right turn, to meet the whole group- but what do I do??? Turn left and make a complete circle (by only doing left turns)- until I was able to just meet the group. I heard JR and the group laugh; I laughed—its just funny that I have a hard time, but that also relaxes me—hoping that I soon will get it.

After it all, we went to Club Ripples to have brunch. I was able to meet the other cyclists, since I missed the whole ride with them. It was great meeting them, but inside- I felt like I had just given up…..

Well things change within a week; I was supposed to meet Brendan and Doreen at Griffith Park. First instincts were to not show up, stay in my warm bed but I fought with my inner self and just got ready and left.

It was great seeing the faces of Brendan and Eric H.; they must have been surprised that I went. See, I met this guys the first time I rode, but since then I have just been doing small rides with JR or my friend Scott- the week before didn’t really count, since I think I did 4 miles. This truly would be my first training group ride, if I were to finish it all. My fears were trying to get the best of me; I faced them and rode with the group (of course all the way in the back, because if I fall, I don’t want to fall onto others).

Anyhow, I was lucky- I think I had 4 Training Ride leaders with me (at least 2 at one time, but 4 the most). Mark and Tony rode with me for most of the ride. From the fears of last week’s fall, I was having a hard time staying clipped in. Overall, it was a great ride. They were trying to teach my tricks on how to stay clipped in and out, how to stop- but for today I was in my own mind- I just need to overcome.

The ride made me reminisce of my days training for the AIDS Marathon. We took the same route, so it made me feel comfortable. I was not that far from my actual group. That was very encouraging. We ended meeting up and rode for a while.

It wasn’t until we got to the LA Zoo that Doreen noticed that my back tired was wobbling too much. I told her that they fixed it the week before. Apparently, they didn’t do a good job. Also, I didn’t even notice that my handle bar was messed up (I think from last weeks fall). She gave me some advice, as to what needs to be fixed. I rode off with Doreen, Tony and Brendan. They motivated me to ride (even after they told me things were wrong with my bike). I did a little up cline with no difficulty- Thanks to Doreen for teaching me the gears.

After it all, I completed the whole ride- I believe it was a total of 13.3 miles! I am so proud of myself- now I just need to get that bike fixed and truly get on it and practice! Riding with the group gave me that extra motivation, I am not alone as a newbie and to top it off, we are well taken care of my the Training Ride Leaders! I gained all the motivation back, I am no longer discouraged!