You know how they say that you never forget how
to ride a bike? That's not exactly true.
This past weekend, I purchased a seafoam green
Electra Beach Cruiser at Fenwick Bike Shop. I accessorized it with a pretty,
white wicker basket and a cup holder for my water bottle. As soon as I got it
back to my beach house, I hopped on and proceeded to ride to the bay - just like
I did the last time I rode a bike - 15 years ago! Everything was going great.
With a grin on my face and the wind in my hair, I peddled my way down the street
like I was a pro. And, then, I tried to make a right turn.
It's all a blur to me now. But I know that, no
matter what I wanted the bike to do, I was headed for a car on the left side of
the road. It's like I wanted the bike to go right, but my body wanted it to
gently veer in to oncoming traffic. In my panic, I forgot about my brakes and
put my foot down to stop myself. Of course, I was wearing flip-flops and that
made for a very ungraceful lurch forward. My heart was pounding and I walked
the bike home and locked it in the shed.
The following morning, I awoke early to go
"practice" my turns. I did better, but only because I was going very, very
slow. I only made one left turn, which was easy to do because it's not as sharp
as a right turn.
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| My Beach Cruiser |
I honestly don't understand what's wrong with
me. I had my daughter try my bike to make sure that there was nothing wrong
with it. As I suspected, there isn't. It's me. Could it be that I'm 50
pounds heavier than I was the last time I was on a bike? Could it be that my
balance isn't what it used to be? I remember riding my ten speed bike with no
hands down steep hills when I was a kid. I remember riding my skateboard up and
down the crooked sidewalks of my childhood neighborhood. What the hell
happened? And why am I so sore?
I added the basket to my Cruiser so that I could
ride to the grocery store and avoid traffic, but I'm afraid to take the bike out
on to coastal highway. The only thing I can do now is practice more. Perhaps
I'll go to the parking lot of the Sun & Surf, which is close to my house, on
Friday morning and just practice going in circles until I'm comfortable. I
honestly don't know what else to do. I also thought it might be good to lower
the seat all the way down (for now) in case I need to put my feet down to stop
myself from falling over.
I'm determined to master this. I watch my
70-something year old neighbors hop on their bikes every day to ride to the
park. If they can do it, I can - right? Ugh. Stay tuned. In the meantime,
I'm taking my cell phone and I.D. with me each time I hop on - just in
case!
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