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!
