The Lore of Cycling: A Memoir

Road biking had always been something that I aspired to do. I saw images of riders in scenic locations, effortlessly gliding along and knew that this was for me. When I finally purchased my road bike it was one of the most exciting days of my life. Soon I would be effortlessly gliding along on the bike, exploring new places and burning calories, too.

After riding an old steel frame bike that weighed around fifty pounds, it was quite the treat to jump on a twenty pound light-weight aluminum bike. There were many new things to be learned as well. I shifted by moving the brake lever left or right. My shoes were specially designed for cycling and clipped right in to the pedals. Better be paying attention if there is a quick stop, lest I fall over before I get the chance to un-clip. I also had to get used to going faster, hitting forty miles an hour happened on a daily basis, something I could never attain with my old bikes.

I practiced clipping into my pedals and clipping out of them as well. I didn't want to tip over with all sorts of people watching. After testing the pedals out I was ready to go: water bottles filled, helmet on, sunglasses on, padded shorts on, and a granola bar in case I got hungry.

I wasn't too sure how far I should ride. I was pretty athletic and had gotten myself into very good distance running shape, but didn't know just how closely biking and running were related. I decided to do twenty miles. The route I chose was one I had picked out long before I had a bike. It was out ten miles and back, on a quite country road along beautiful Lake Michigan. The ride turned out to be everything I had expected. I could see the lake for most of my ride as the road wove in and out of forests. The ride had a few hills, but nothing huge, and nothing that seemed overwhelming.

At the halfway point I stopped, checked my speed and took a sip of water as I marveled at the beauty of the countryside butting up against the undeveloped lakeshore. This was where it hit me, riding was for me. I knew then that this wouldn't be my last ride and that my investment was most definitely a good one. After soaking up the scenery I hopped back on my bike and cruised home with what felt like a tailwind. Whether I was so excited about biking or I indeed had a tailwind, I'll never know. I do know that road cycling turned out to be everything I had expected it to be and then some. On that calm summer day a new cyclist was born.