Cycle Therapy

So.. I have a loaner bike from a local bike shop to try biking again. Since I have not been on a bike in, oh maybe, 15 years or so, I knew that I needed some "time" getting used to riding again. What is that saying? "It's like riding a bike." Right. We have gone to the park a couple of times with G in the trailer and once, just me and a gal pal, but today... well, today, I almost died. Said "friend," invited me to join her and a couple other people for a long ride out in the country. A long ride turned out to be 16.62 miles. Yes, 16.62 miles. I may be in a coma tomorrow, so someone should check on me.

During the ride, I had multiple problems. First, the front wheel was scraping the brake pad. Annoying but not dangerous. Then, my gears came off track. Slightly dangerous while riding in the road. Then, my rear brake started making a horrible noise... eventually I had to pull over for the third time. Turns out that the brakes were "tight" and despite our efforts (and that of an experienced cycling passerby), not completely fixable. So, the rest of the ride I couldn't use the rear brake and it gave some "resistance" to pedaling. I really didn't need any resistance, thank you very much.

Although at times I wanted to scream and make the other three push me back to the car, I made it all 16.62 miles. Next up, a tune up for the loaner bike.