Aerobars!

Today was a big day...my first bike ride with my new aerobars!  As Jessica has referenced in previous posts, the two of us have a tenuous relationship with our bikes, i.e both of us are terrified of them.  For example, every cycling workout is probably twice as hard as it should be because my adrenaline is pumping a million times more than it needs to due to my fear...sometimes my shoulders and hands are sore after a bike because I am gripping the handle bars so tightly...I'm still too nervous to only unclip one shoe and lean over to the other side of my bike when I'm stopped.  Keeping all these fears, unjustified as they may be, in mind you can probably see how aerobars are a BIG step.  Because of this fear and hesitation, I decided to do my first ride within the privacy of my own neighborhood, so at least only people I knew would laugh at my misfortunes.  I also wore spandex and two layers of sweats (top AND bottom) to cushion my inevitable falls and protect my skin from road rash.

One day, I will not be so awkward.

Wearing my sweet outfit, I marched outside with my bike ready to take on those aerobars.  It was a beautiful day this morning, in fact, it was too warm for the amount of clothes I was wearing, but I figured the preservation of my skin was more important.  There also wasn't too many people out, thank goodness, to watch me, a 25 year old woman, learn how to ride a bike.  All was good.  I hopped onto my bike and did a few laps around my block to warm up, and then tried my aerobars.

IT WAS A SUCCESS!! I made it MANY laps around my block in aero, turns and all!  It's a small thing, but being able to ride in aero (without falling), has kept me smiling all day...through lunch, through my running workout later (I'm not even going to write about it today, as it was insignificant compared to my success), through my studying in the library.  In fact, as I'm writing this in the library I'm still grinning ear to ear.  People are probably wondering what is wrong with me, but I can't bring myself to care.  It's all about the little successes in life!

While this was a very small step, one that most people probably easily make, I'm hoping that this success will continue into other aspects of my cycling workouts, especially in terms of speed and comfort.  Perhaps I will even try to master the skill of only unclipping one side when I stop.  I can only keep trying and hoping :)