honeysuckle on the rivanna: no training wheels needed!
(re-)acquainting myself w/ bicycling in the past month makes me feel like i've been reunited with an old friend. i've come a long way since march--remember when i was shopping for a "grown-up" bike, and reminiscing about the beloved banana-seat bike i owned as a little girl? well, a month ago, i became the proud owner of a fancy, brand-new Trek 7100. i love it! it's a gorgeous, deep burgundy red w/ silver. or as i like to say, it's a rich merlot. i was torn over whether to get a mountain vs. a road bike, so i chose a hybrid, which has characteristics of both, and fits my needs perfectly.
they say that once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. how true! (my last ride was probably ~1986)! at once, it's familiar & comfortable, and yet new & exciting. my 1st ride on my trek elicited a "Whoa Nelly!" sensation as i coasted downhill, reminding myself not to slam on the front brakes, or else risk flipping over the handlebars. ha! i'm getting accustomed to my feet not touching the ground flat when i come to a stop (unlike a child's bike). the best comparison is to the feeling you get when you're learning to swim and you go into deep water for the 1st time and realize your feet don�t touch the bottom of the pool. pedaling itself is the easy part. it's the technical aspects (gears, etc.) and efficient cycling techniques i'm now trying to learn as an adult. after all, i'm supposed to become a triathlete in 33 days. right?...right.
i've gone on four training rides and so far, so good. i'm avoiding city roads, as bad drivers, narrow bike lanes, and heavy traffic around c'ville make me skittish. instead, i've opted for paved bike paths at the park. one is at a ballpark at UVA, which is lovely. but my two most recent rides truly stand out: at riverview park, there is an excellent trail known as the "rivanna greenbelt", or "rivanna greenway". it's a paved path, originally 1.25 miles, but recently extended to about 2 miles (1 back & forth loop ='s 4 miles). *{follow the links above to see pics of the trail}. it's scenic, and runs along the rivanna river, which is a tributary of the james river, and eventually the chesapeake bay. some parts are wooded and remind me of the path around one of the lakes where i went to college--a place i often went walking, running, or canoeing to de-stress.
i did a 16-mile ride on saturday afternoon, and oh man! it felt amazing & freeing to be out on my bike zipping through the warm, honeysuckle-scented air. for a long time when i was growing up, my bike was my escape, and this is what it was like for me again: quiet, peaceful time to myself. bicycles bring a form of independence that a car just can't equal. while it carries me more slowly than a car, it lets me see more along the way. and slowly, but surely, i'm falling in love w/ my old pal, cycling.
