Reposted from my personal blog over at
GeekHabitat.com --
This isn't exactly an
elated celebratory post, but it's in the right direction. Justin and I headed out for my first bike ride since I was 4 months pregnant with Sara (and that was a low heart rate ride in a paved neighborhood, because my OB didn't really want me on my mountain bike and I didn't own a road bike yet.) Not only was this my first time on a bike in over a year, it's my first time on a ROAD BIKE since I was about 13 years old.
Anyway, the new bike is awesome and we'll post some "glamour shots" of her soon, although she has already acquired some scrapes. How so? Because I bit the bullet when we bought her, and had "
clipless pedals" installed (which are a misnomer, because you "clip in" and "clip out" to secure your feet to the pedals, literally becoming one with your bike.) Clipless pedals allow for more efficient energy transfer from your body to the bike, since you're producing power on your upstroke as well as the down pedal stroke. As a newbie, though, I'm convinced that
clipless pedals exist to make adults feel like they don't know how to ride a bike!
Transitioning from a mountain bike to a road bike is a big change, itself, especially after a year out of the saddle; transitioning to a new road bike AND using clipless pedals for the first time ever? Pretty much a recipe for a fall, or at least some hair-raising moments. For me, it's a recipe for a fall... probably a few falls, until I get the hang of things, but hopefully none as painful as today's (except to my dignity.)
So, yeah, I fell, and I managed to fall with both legs still clipped in and I couldn't get unclipped until Justin came over and got the leg I wasn't laying on top of clipped out. My right knee, elbow, forearm, shoulder and ankle are all screaming. Thankfully, I only
drew blood on my knee, and the knee's what's going to be hollering for awhile, but as I posted on my Flickr details for the post-wipeout knee shot, after you've blown out your ACL and had knee surgery, you celebrate anytime you can stand up and bear weight on your knee/leg after a fall. I also always try to fall on my "good knee/leg". It sounds silly, but my post-op (left) knee is my "expensive knee" and I unconsciously try to protect it in any situation where I might fall. I figure God probably made my knee stronger than even my 3-year's-post-op other knee is, plus I know that revisions on ACL reconstructions have a slightly lower success rate than original repairs.
Anyway, I'm back on a bike and it's a sweet ride and I will get the hang of this blasted clipping and unclipping #(!@#(~#$ soon enough, hopefully with no more blood-letting and only a few more bruises. Mostly, I'm looking forward to burning a big ol' ton of fat calories!
First Ride on New Road Bike & Clipless Pedals
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