bike bike bike

[eirias]

I learned to ride a bike a few years ago, when I had graduated for the umpteenth time and needed a new challenge. And when I say learned to ride, I mean it in the sense that I could get on my bike and make it go without falling over (much). But after I had balancing down, I only managed to make time for practicing a few times a year, and lots of the basic mechanics, including gear shifting, signalling, navigating other bikes and pedestrians and dogs, even hills and tight turns, were sort of bridges too far.

Anyway, fast forward to COVID and I'm realizing after a couple of emergency trips to MPOW that in the current situation, the non-driver transit plan I have heretofore pieced together for myself -- bus + spouse's car + Lyft -- is entirely unsatisfactory. Learning to drive suddenly ratcheted up in priority from "mehhh" to "jeez I really should have done that thing yesterday," but right now, it comes with a hefty side of "where do we put the kid while I learn?" Bike-as-transit, however, has a lot going for it. (1) I have the equipment. (2) I can do it on my own. (3) I'm already partway there.

So, following S's advice I've just been getting on the bike and riding as much as I can. I've tried to get out in the mornings; I'm awake, I'm not on tap for parenting, I can be slow and awkward and not clog up anybody's commute. We've also tried to take family bike rides most weekends. My third grader is considerably faster than I am at this point, so I'm always bringing up the rear. But that's fine!

The last weekend ride I took was a little bit rough, and even though the terrain looks flat on Google Maps, it felt .... not actually flat. At several points the hills were such that I couldn't make the bike go, which was worrisome from the standpoint of a would-be commuter. So today, I thought I'd give my commute a try, at least the first half of it. And it was actually super easy! I encountered nothing that makes me think this life plan will be a reach. This weekend, if I can get up early enough to beat the crowds, I'll see if I can do the full ten mile round-trip.

Riding felt much better today in a global sense, despite having lapsed in my practice routine for a week or so -- as soon as I got on the bike I felt like I knew what I was doing. That's varied a ton, but I think this morning was a new high point. I didn't tense up when I encountered other bikers or pedestrians, and I didn't have to think very hard about the actual mechanics. Scoping out traffic at intersections felt natural and easy today also, and I mostly took those crossings at speed when it was feasible. I worked on adjusting my pedaling speed to match the resistance the bike was getting, without switching gears, as the last weekend ride taught me that just downshifting when there's a hill to climb is not really a panacea. I also made a ton of progress on hand signaling, which will be a key skill to unlock as it's currently a major barrier to riding in the street. I think in 1-2 weeks, those signals will be under my belt, too.

Comments

[glassonion]

That's awesome! Bike bike bike.

(And, yeah, a lot of things are hillier than you think they are before you put a bike on them. Don't sweat it; for routine stuff like commutes, you'll figure it out.)

[eirias]

I’ve just been so surprised by being surprised by hills, if that makes sense. Like I didn’t realize there was this work I am doing when walking in some bits of town that my body apparently adjusts for automatically.

In other news, I liked my Wednesday ride but my tailbone Did Not. X-P

[glassonion]

Hmm, i have some advice about that too, if you don't mind, namely: don't worry about it, but keep an eye on it. Sometimes you're saddlesore because your body just isn't used to putting pressure in that position, and after time you'll get used to it, and it's no big deal. Sometimes you're saddlesore because your bike seat is a bad shape for you, and that's less likely to fix itself. So: if you're sore, wait it out for a bit and see if it improves after a few rides, but if you're numb at all, consider trying a different saddle shape sooner rather than later.

[eirias]

Not at all, this is helpful. Part of my problem is that I broke my tailbone (I believe) a couple times in the past in hard falls on ice, and it is an old injury that is easy to retrigger. Another part of the problem is that I spend a lot of my workday now in a hard wooden dining chair. So, a couple strikes against me here.

The long ride this week may have been a bad move from the “body is not used to this” standpoint, so I’m going to back off actually and not aim for any more hourish rides for a while. If I can do 20-30min on more days, maybe I will have an easier time adjusting.