![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I took my first bike ride tonight after work. I just went around the neighborhood for about a half hour trying to get the hang of it. I didn't fall over, but I did loose control a few times and had some messy stops. I'm thinking in list form, so
1. Bike helmets look dumb. Mine makes me look like a big blue mushroom. I am the only person in my neighborhood who wears one. Vanity almost got the best of me, but I know that if I don't wear it I'll fall down and Denis will taunt me for the rest of my life. (Note that it is the threat of taunting, not my safety that is a motivating factor).
2. Going straight on smooth level pavement is no problem, anything else is.
3. Turning is hard, turning downhill is harder.
4. I do not like to go fast.
5. You can't go as slow as you would like on a bike before almost falling over.
6. Cars (and turning onto places where they might be) sucks.
7. Riding a bike is fun. It brings back lots of good childhood memories, especially about my dad.
8. Riding a bike is more fun when you can go farther than up and down your street.
9. Riding a bike is probably most fun when you have other people to do it with.
10. People in my neighborhood do not hesitate to make fun of inexperienced women riding bikes. Particularly men who sit on their porches, look like shrivled tobacco leaves, and heckle people on bikes who have difficulty stopping and turning.
11. Small children running around are dangerous, but not as much as cars.
12. Riding a bike for a few miles (at least on mostly flat terrain) is not particularly strenuous.
13. Trial-and-error is a legitimate way to figure out how gears work.
14. My mom used to ride a bike to and from work when she lived in Colorado. (I think she was a waitress or hostess, at Denny's maybe? during this time). Her advice was to wear lots of clothes in case you fall over, riding at night is dangerous because you can't see the potholes, and carry money for a taxi in case you get a flat. There are no taxis (some, but not very many) in North Adams, but good advice anyway.
15. You have to pay attention when riding a bike, just when your mind starts to wander something will demand your attention (or at least your reflexes).
16. The Berkshires are filled with beautiful natural scenery (but, at least where I live, not particularly beautiful people).
That's all I can think of right now. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
1. Bike helmets look dumb. Mine makes me look like a big blue mushroom. I am the only person in my neighborhood who wears one. Vanity almost got the best of me, but I know that if I don't wear it I'll fall down and Denis will taunt me for the rest of my life. (Note that it is the threat of taunting, not my safety that is a motivating factor).
2. Going straight on smooth level pavement is no problem, anything else is.
3. Turning is hard, turning downhill is harder.
4. I do not like to go fast.
5. You can't go as slow as you would like on a bike before almost falling over.
6. Cars (and turning onto places where they might be) sucks.
7. Riding a bike is fun. It brings back lots of good childhood memories, especially about my dad.
8. Riding a bike is more fun when you can go farther than up and down your street.
9. Riding a bike is probably most fun when you have other people to do it with.
10. People in my neighborhood do not hesitate to make fun of inexperienced women riding bikes. Particularly men who sit on their porches, look like shrivled tobacco leaves, and heckle people on bikes who have difficulty stopping and turning.
11. Small children running around are dangerous, but not as much as cars.
12. Riding a bike for a few miles (at least on mostly flat terrain) is not particularly strenuous.
13. Trial-and-error is a legitimate way to figure out how gears work.
14. My mom used to ride a bike to and from work when she lived in Colorado. (I think she was a waitress or hostess, at Denny's maybe? during this time). Her advice was to wear lots of clothes in case you fall over, riding at night is dangerous because you can't see the potholes, and carry money for a taxi in case you get a flat. There are no taxis (some, but not very many) in North Adams, but good advice anyway.
15. You have to pay attention when riding a bike, just when your mind starts to wander something will demand your attention (or at least your reflexes).
16. The Berkshires are filled with beautiful natural scenery (but, at least where I live, not particularly beautiful people).
That's all I can think of right now. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject