Losing half of myself!

Losing half of myself!

I started out on a Women's Comfort Cruiser, one speed....after getting the saddle height right I discovered that there was TOO MUCH OF ME to peddle around - I was exhausted and knees really hurting (which is NOT a good thing since it was my orthopedic surgeon's idea that I bike to improve my overworked knees!) Plus I kept reaching for the HAND BRAKES, which I didn't have on the one speed; Do you think my brain could remember way back to when I was 12 and used coaster brakes?

No!!! I kept finding myself putting down my feet to stop me! Not a pretty sight nor a safe one....so after much chagrin, I realized that I needed GEARS AND HANDBRAKES!!!

So, back to the store went my nice blue cruiser bike and the fun began....hubby helped pull down the bikes I wanted to try and hold them up so I could swing my overly large leg over the seat (I don't know why I can't just step through the women's frame like a NORMAL PERSON!!!)....well, next thing I know I am hung up on the saddle front and can't dismount the bike and as I tried to lift my leg back off the saddle, I about fell on not only MY noggin but a couple little kids who were nearby!

Panic!!! Lesson # 1: don't wear street pants to try on bikes -- they were so baggy they kept hanging up!!!

Finally I wore myself out and him too, and we had to go to McDonald's to recuperate and think things over.....I got up my courage and many bruises and headed back to the store and settled on a nice blue women's mountain bike for me.......

Then Utah weather intervened and it rained, snowed and did otherwise dasterdly things, preventing me from riding my new bike for almost a week!

Finally, hubby did the "swap old saddle from old bike and adjust saddle height" deal , and so forth and I went for a ride! (Picture a very fat old lady peddling in a wobbling fashion around our RV park...the folks just stared at me)....One old fellow stopped us and chatted while I got my breath...hubby was of course, right beside me all the time I was riding in case I went KERSPLATTTT..... brave soul he was...

It took us three more tries before I got the saddle height, stem height and muscles going to be able to ride all of about 1000 yards all together....boy was I pooped afterwards, wondering if I'd bitten off more than this old gal could chew...I was sore for days after.....

I thought I should get a newer smaller saddle for me and off I went to LBS and came home with several dandy items: a helmet mirror, an ankle strap and a nice Italian gel seat......happy and dumb as could be...

Hubby patiently applied new seat, while I stuck on the mirror and he jogged besides me to make sure I didn't kill myself riding while trying to adjust the rear view mirror on my helmet.......nearly hit a car, nearly ran into a parked Rv and actually figured out the mirror, but.....THAT SEAT FELT LIKE A GEL ENNEMA!!!

Fancy Italian saddle or not, it was NOT working with my nether parts....AT ALL!!! So back we went and patient hubby (DH) swapped saddles while grumbling......and we discovered that the nice basket I'd bought earlier would NOt work with the new stem height...oh, well, great idea while it worked....

I also discovered that my cute little flourescent flag would not work if I planned to throw my leg over the seat to mount my bike.....still not stepping through the frame...as you see...don't know why but maybe it's because I CAN'T LIFT MY LEG THAT HIGH!!! (yet I can throw it over the seat....really dumb..huh?)

So, I had to get on my bike, stand and turn sideways to insert the flag pole into the rear mount...picture that! Really problematic, but you see THAT FLAGPOLE MIGHT JUST SAVE ME FROM BECOMING A HOOD ORNAMENT~~~

Well, the ride was perfect...I was having no trouble reaching the brakes, gears (on the handlebars) and I was not sitting too far back, and my trusty old "elephant" saddle was really CUMFY!!! I was a happy camper. ....but a very winded one! Hey, this biking thing is HARD if you're out of shape, very fat and very old.....
Even better, I could stop myself with the brakes and also reach out my feet to balance myself without falling over... A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT...

I am excited about riding in the future...but I am a long way from riding down the trails with Yellow, a team estrogen member....she lives in the avenues and has invited me to join her on the Jordan River parkway which runs behind me in the Rv park....I am picturing her being very not happy when she learns that riding a few blocks is ALL I AM UP TO NOW.!!!

So, slow but easy I go, and hopefully will build myself up...I need to LOSE HALF OF MYSELF SO I CAN BE HEALTHY!!! It's going to take time.....