Taking a Spin on My New Bike

Finally, after a month of waiting, I got my new bike.  If anyone saw me last week, it was the only thing that I could speak about, I was so excited.  I felt like a little kid waiting for my birthday or holidays to open up my presents. Who knew that a bike would cause this type of emotion?   When I stopped at Campmor to pick it up, I had the biggest smile on my face, I think that the bikeshop thought I was crazy.  I tried to explain that this was my first road bike and all I have been wanting to do is get out and ride. Thankfully most of them were riders so they did get it.

Like the first day of school, my mom came out to take a picture of my first ride on my new bike

The timing could not have been more perfect since last weekend was beautiful and I was heading up to my parents in Cornwall on Hudson for my niece's birthday on Sunday.  I decided  to drive up on Saturday night and get up early on Sunday to take a ride.   Now those of you that know me well know that my favorite place on earth is where I grew up, Cornwall on Hudson and West Point. I dont care of the places that I have seen around the world, nothing is like coming home to the valley. 

Between C-O-H and West Point is a hidden treasure, RT 218,  that if you hit it on a day that is closed, is an amazing experience to be on.  RT 218 is a narrow hilly road built into Storm King Mountain that closes when it snows or rains due to rock slide risks.  When I was younger I would look forward to the days that it would snow so that I could take a walk with my father on the snow covered road.  Most of the time we would have the road to ourselves.  The highlight of the trip would be when my father would pull one of the icicles off of the rocks for me to suck on.  I still look forward to these walks though now I am able to pull my own suckers off the rock.

I lucked out that 218 was closed last weekend due to all the rain.  My original plan was to ride over 218 to 293 through West Point to Camp Buckner. It was about a 35 mile route.  I had to be home by 10:45 and got going a little late...so at the end, I just road for time.   I hopped on my biked around 9:00 and road through the village to RT 218.

First time on my bike and actually any road bike took a little getting used to.  I probably should have read the booklet first. I spent the first 10 minutes trying to figure out to change the gears.  I could increase the gears but had no clue on how to decrease them.  Finally after hitting the brake, I realize the whole part moved, decreasing changing the gear. It was perfect timing, right when I got to the start of 218 and the incline.  

After getting used to it, I realized I love my bike.  It is so much easier (yeah duh) to ride than my old mountain bike and so much faster.  I barely had to move to make the bike react.  I found myself a little scared going down the hills and had my hands on the brakes the whole time.    The hardest part that I will have to adjust to is where I hold my hands. I am used to having the brakes on the outside of the handle bars.  Now they are in the front....so downhill, I have to keep my hands in that position the whole time or at least be able to react when needed.

The ride itself was great. The road had some debris and rocks from the last rain that I had to navigate but nothing too bad.  Since it was warm, there were waterfalls everywhere from the melting ice and some really cool icicles.  (check out this photo of the leaning ice).    The only person I passed on the road was my father walking with our dog. 

I cleared 218 pretty easily and really started to enjoy the ride. It helped that I was going down a nice downhill when I had this thought.   Then I hit RT 293 that pretty much was a slight incline for about what felt like 45 minutes.  Holy crap, this is where I realized that my biking ability is not the greatest.  I started to struggle after about 5-10 minutes in and my legs were burning.  I was trying to sit in the saddle for this part of the ride but I had to stand up to get some power. I changed my gears, that did not work. My quads felt like dead weight and I felt like I was moving about 5 mph.   I kept looking at my watch to see if it was time to turn around.....I was not enjoying this part.  I finally made it to Round Pond where I decided to turn around.  I had biked for about hour and was thankful I had Mia's 11:30 birthday party to be at for my excuse to be home.    

The ride back was not as bad since the incline turned into a decline.  My legs were warm enough that 218 was a little hard but not as bad as 293.  The whole time I kept thinking "this ride is kicking your ass".  Thankfully I did this alone.   There is nothing like doing an activity that will tell you how in shape you are to complete it.  I realized that my biking shape needs a lot of work and maybe I should focus on this a little more.  I plan to be up here a lot in the next few months hitting 218 (if closed) and 293 as much as possible to get in better shape.

Here are some other pics from the ride.  Hope you enjoy them.