Coach Jeff has been encouraging me to get a bike for quite some time now. I kept putting it off for 2 reasons. 1) it was too expensive and 2) I was afraid Mrs. Ansky would divorce me thinking that I wanted to start doing triathlon. A few weeks ago, Brandon was selling some items he couldn't take with him to Boulder. I half-jokingly asked him if he had a bike he wanted to sell me. As luck would have it, he asked me if I was interested in his 2007 Felt Z90. After talking about it with my wife (and assuring her that I had no triathlon aspirations), Brandon, and Coach Jeff, I decided drink the cycling kool-aid and bought the bike.
The first thing I needed to do is get it tuned up, so I took it to the Cosmic Wheel in Ridgefield Park, NJ which came highly recommended by many cycling enthusiasts in Bergen County. When I went on Wednesday to pick the bike up, John, the owner, put the bike on a trainer and told me to get on and start pedaling. He made some adjustments, gave me a quick tutorial about how to shift gears, and told me I was good to go. I thought to myself "now what?" I brought the bike in from the car and left it in my living room. Mrs. Ansky put me on notice that I need to find a better place to store it. I told her I'm keeping it upstairs because I'm taking it out for a ride tomorrow morning.
Thursday morning, I took it out for a spin around local streets. I'll admit, I was very nervous when I first started pedaling but I got more comfortable as the ride went on.I managed to ride for an hour without falling or hurting anyone (including myself). I practiced which gears to use for going up hill, down hill, and on flats. The ride went well but I quickly learned that I need to buy a pair of cycling shorts. My tush is still sore.
Running will always be my #1 sport by I'm excited about adding cycling into the mix for cross training, recovery, and building strength. Stay tuned for more cycling adventures.
P.S. I found a great spot in my basement to store the bike.
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