Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Introducing: Princess Leia

After last Monday's race it was off to get some food and to do some shopping with Aaron.  Yes, I was at least kind enough to change out of my racing shirt into the shirt they gaveaway at the race, because phew....I don't smell so dandy after running hard.  Before I knew it, we were at Scheel's and Aaron was telling a dude working there that I wanted to try out a road bike.  Whaaaaaaaaaaa?  I mean, we've discussed me getting a road bike.  And in exchange for me creating a training program for him, he was going to lend me his expert road bike knowledge in order to make an informed decision, but I tend to like to plan things years in advance.  Especially large purchases.

So I nervously got on a road bike (for the first time) wearing a helmet (for the first time) and road around the parking lot for about 12 seconds.  Done.  I know nothing about bikes.  I don't know if I "like" this bike because I've only ridden my sweet beach cruiser and some not so sweet mountain bikes back in the day.  So I threw in the towel.

And then we magically showed up at a bike shop.  I was really starting to hate Aaron.  Until I laid eyes on this creature.  I went from, "Yes, I'd like a road bike, but don't know if it's in my budget to get one" (this was the credit counselor in me speaking btw) to "Eeeeeeee I want it right now! Can I ride it home?!?  Can we go ride right now?  Ok fine I'll wear a helmet as long as I can ride her around!!!"  I had originally wanted to set aside money for a few months to pay for her, but once I realized that a few months = cold weather = no longer bike riding season, I gave in to some sweet financing options.  Credit isn't a bad thing when used wisely, yo. ;)
After signing my life away, we went to get Aaron's bike and set out for my first ride.  So much fun.  It's definitely a lot different from what I'm used to, and can actually go faaaaaaaast, which is 100% frightening to me.  I was momentarily thinking of hanging up my running shoes for my new love until I came back to reality.  When I brought her home there were some looks and scowls of disapproval from Miss Polly.  I have a feeling they do battle while I'm at work all day.  May the best bike win.

I took Princess Leia out for spin #2 and technically #3 on Sunday night when I just wasn't feeling the tempo run I had on the schedule.  Miss Jenn wanted to hang out, so I thought, "what better to go visit her than by bike!"  Luckily our places are separated mostly by bike trail, so it was a pleasant 8 mile jaunt over.  Since it's pretty flat I didn't have to practice changing gears too much.  By the time I left her place it was daaaaark out and kind of scary, so I hauled ass home.  Somehow I managed to make it home quicker than it took me to get there.  Whoo!  For the record, I'm still terribly frightened of going fast downhill.  Hopefully that passes....soon.

I did 15.8 miles in 1:17:00 (12.3 mph).  Speed demon I tell ya. ;)

Check out Racing With Babes' giveaway, Trying to Heal's giveaway, and The Boring Runner's giveaway!

16 comments:

baker said...

Hot ride!!!!

Anonymous said...

FINALLY! ;) Isn't is addicting? Love at first site?! I hated that I had to wait 2 days before I could purchase/take home the bici. I've had her for 2 months and still get excited to go ride, *every* time. Clipless pedals? (I haven't taken the plunge yet...)

Aron said...

shes beautiful!!! :) going downhill is scary! but i think the more we are on it, the easier it will be. yay bikes!

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

for me it only takes 5 minutes watching Le Tour De France to get my cycling jones going. I love cycling.

what kind of bike is the Princess? It looks like a Specialized? I have been hot on getting a throwback steel frame they have - the Allez.

Librarian on the Run said...

Nice bike! Does this mean that there *might* be a triathlon somewhere in your future?

KovasP said...

Great looking bike! Hooray if it's leading to a triathlon.

jt00ct said...

Congratulations on the sweet looking bike Jeri! One of the best things about biking is the amount of ground that you can cover, it's also obviously great for cross training. Enjoy!

Evolving Through Running said...

Love the bike, and love the name. I keep telling myself I'm going to clean up my mountain bike and add it to the x-training, but I just end up running. Guess that's better than ending up doing nothing.

Jen Feeny said...

I can't decide if I like her or her name better! Miss Polly def has some competition to contend with!

Jamie said...

Love it! Congrats on the newest addition :)

Anonymous said...

sweet new rig..VERY nice!

The un-Zen Runner said...

I've only ridden a road bike a handful of times, and have been surprised each time with how much I can haul ass. I could easily get into biking, just not sure I could easily get into the multi-colored florescent spandex.

Anonymous said...

1- your bike is WAY better than many who are just starting out.

2- your bike blows mine out of the water and I am on year 3.

3- for a first ride, 12.3 is not bad. I am serious.

Matt L. said...

So glad you are enjoying your new bike. Princess Leia looks sweet!

Matt L.
scheels.com

Glenn Jones said...

Nice bike Jer! But Princess Leia?

Susan said...

Oh man...I may have to get on this trend soon!