The Biking Princess Claims a New Domain

It has been a long and arduous journey but we have relocated to sunny Florida, land of blue skies, sparkling water and cooling ocean breezes.

Except that we are temporarily exiled to central Florida, specifically Orlando, land of concrete, Mickey Mouse and 3 digit heat indexes. My darling sister-in-law has provided refugee while we search for a home on the coast.

Always the cheerful princess, I am making the best of my current situation. This morning I took my trusty Fuji Crosstown 4.0 comfort bike out for the first time since last fall. Isn’t that an awfully long time since riding you might ask… well yes, but living in Ohio is not conducive to bike riding in the winter especially for a princess such as myself who hates to be cold. But haven’t you been in Florida for weeks and weeks? Well yes, but I needed a good bike pump to inflate my tires and finally got one last week. Last week? And you just went on your first ride today? Well yes, but… but… what’s with all the questions!

My mum, the queen mother you might say, has always told me “Horses sweat, gentlemen perspire and ladies glisten.” Let me tell you that after my ride this morning I was glistening like a race horse! 

Heat Index 98 degrees!

I rode for 3 miles along a nice road with a marked bike path, light traffic and people who obeyed the traffic rules. I have to say that it was not as nice as the Olentangy Bike path back in Columbus. The sun was certainly shining but there was no river flowing gently and oddly no birds singing.  One thing I did enjoy (especially considering how out of bike riding shape I am) is that it’s extremely flat here, no gear shifting needed. And no –horror of horrors – having to get off the bike and walk it up a hill. 

Until next time

 

A Gaggle of Geezers

One of the definitions of a gaggle according to Wikipedia is an unorganized group doing nothing while geezer is commonly an old or eccentric man. So I don’t know if my title is an entirely accurate description of the group confronting me last Sunday on the Olentangy Trail because I
think there was some small degree or organization and there were some women in the group. They did however bear a striking resemblance to a group of geese so perhaps that would be the better definition. There I was once again on my lovely Fuji bike pedaling my little heart out on the return side of my route when there at the Antrium Park entry is a large group of sedentary seniors standing solidly in the center of the path. Thinking that they were so involved in the simulating conversation they were having that they were unaware that they were blocking the path I shouted a helpful “bike”. As no one moved I shouted a little louder “BIKE” and then came to a halt in front of them with a “come on guys”. To which one person responded “watch out for the crazy bike woman”.
Really?
I’m riding on a clearly marked trail. A trail is defined as a path, track or other route or thoroughfare used for travel. Not as a meeting spot for a hostile takeover. So here is what I wish I would have said. This is a trail – which connotates movement of some sort, if you just want to stand around and chat there is ample room on either side of the pathway. When you block the way it makes it difficult for others enjoying the park. I could fall, I could break a hip, I could lose my balance and crash into you. It’s just rude and you are all certainly old enough to know better.
And just to be clear, this was not an innocent group that was unable to totter across the path in a timely manner or unable to walk and talk at the same time or unable to comprehend that they were actually blocking a thoroughfare. No. According to other travelers further up the path this group had chosen to clog up the path for quite some time to the consternation of many. This bunch was having a sit-in, or stand-in, to protest the use of the trail by those wishing to get a little exercise. And from the looks of them they could all use a little exercise – biking, jogging, walking - or at the very least just move their butts off the path.

Let the Ranting Begin

Our local bike path is the Olentangy Trail.It’s a scenic route winding its way along the river safely away from the traffic. The car traffic that is, there is plenty of traffic on the path, cyclists, skaters, walkers, walkers with dogs, runners with strollers, bikers with babies and any combination thereof. So there I am zipping along the path, the river is running, the sun is shining,the birds are singing and just as I am about to give a little wave to some ladies walking toward me on the other side of the path a pedal pushing Adonis flashes between us at the speed of sound. So here’s where the rant comes in. This 20 or 30 something idiot in a skin tight jersey and form fitting biking shorts on a racing bike that cost more than my car seems to think that the trail is a race course with moving obstacles (one of which is me) provided to test his reflexes and abilities. Even I know that one should say “passing” or “on your left” to a slower person on the path just in case they were thinking of suddenly swerving in front of you or stopping or some other silly thing. And especially so that you don’t scare the bejeezus out of them when you zoom by. This is not hard to do even if you are panting and out of breath and can hardly push the pedal one more time so you would think that it would be easy for one of the biking gods. But you would be wrong. So give me a freaking break you Lance Armstrong wanna-be and let me know when you’re passing.

Have fun, get fit

Inspired by my neighbors impressive transformation the previous summer I decided to dust off my old Schwinn Le Tour and try to lose some weight. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to riding because when I had ridden with her once last year it was a less than pleasant experience. So gritting my teeth I got the old torture machine out. When I discovered that my front tire was the victim of dry rot did I take the easy way out and quit? No! I marched myself across the street and borrowed said neighbors bike. And then I discovered… joy! What a great bike - I could sit up on a seat that was actually designed for a normal butt, the handle bars were within reach and it wasn’t excruciatingly painful to pedal. Thinking “I have got to get me one of these” I headed out in search of a new bike. Within a week of finding my dream bike I had ventured out of my neighborhood and onto the local bike path riding between 10 and 15 miles a day. It was fun and even though I had to walk my bike up some of the hills at first I felt like that skinny young girl again. And that is how I became a biking princess.

Childhood Revisited

I am the proud new owner of a Fuji Cruiser - a "comfort bike" and I have to say that they have definitely got that right.
I love this bike; it has brought back the joy of riding not experienced since I was a child. Remember what that was like? Riding all over the neighborhood, streamers flying, ponytail flapping in the wind, skinny legs pumping those pedals for all they were worth, feeling like the fastest girl in the world, uncatchable, powerful and free. ~~whoosh~~