back to the hybrid?

[latelatebloomer]

Hey, guys, I mean, wimmen - is it totally wussy for me to be getting out the hybrid for at least some of my rides? Last ride on the road bike was pretty icky - got real nervous again - and every time I come to a corner, I feel like it's the first one I've ever seen in my life. It's a beautiful but very windy day today, and I have this urge to get out the hybrid and toodle around, just pretending I'm 10 again and riding around the neighborhood.

Still muddling through, LLB

ps - I emailed Portia Masterson, author of Bicycling Bliss, and she suggested I journal to see if my "appropriate" fear joined up with others to become larger than "appropriate." OY! Linked into kidhood when home was very scary and school was almost worse, and I felt I had "no place to turn." Those were the words that came out! So I think when I've worked this out and can corner with ease, more than my ride will be healed.

[yellow]

Ride your hybrid if you want! Isn't riding primarily about having a good time?! I had forgotten there for a while how much fun it can be to toodle around. I've been riding my old-mtn-bike-now-a-toodle-bike around the neighborhood and to the gym and really enjoying it. I still ride my road bike more, but it's nice to have a totally different riding focus every now and then. Schedule "dates" with your hybrid as your reward for learning how to ride your road bike (or vice-versa: schedule "dates" with your road bike, and keep a specific goal in mind). Before you know it you'll be looking forward to riding your sleek machine, too!

[faroe78]

.I have this urge to get out the hybrid and toodle around, just pretending I'm 10 again and riding around the neighborhood.

I haven't got a bike yet to toodle with, but they are building a roundabout a few miles away, not really far. The other day, I thought how fun it would be to toodle up there on a bike and watch the construction. It's something I might have done as a kid, and dammit, why not do it as an adult? Yeah, I think I'd like to toodle and explore. Biking doesn't just have to be about fitness or racing or what, but about getting back to the basics. As the TOm Baker version of Doctor Who once said, "what's the point of being an adult if you can't be childish sometimes?" Wise words, and I think they will now be my sig.
Susan

[tprevost]

Hey LLB,

Go for it! I have a very good friend who has a road bike along with her trusty hybrid and she prefers the hybrid almost all the time. In fact she has ridden countless miles on it including riding the Cinderella 100k (Norcal) several times. Don't worry about which bike you ride, just enjoy yourself and keep journaling!

Tracy

[DrBee]

Ride whatever feels right at the time. If you need to ride the hybrid around for a bit until you get your issues with the roadbike worked out - at least you're still getting out and riding. Hybrids are great bikes (I own both a hybrid and roadbike). Toodling around on one is ideal! That's what I ride when we take the kids to the park, visit friends, etc.

[Bad JuJu]

As some wise person (probably a woman ) once said, if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right! I keep an old beater/cruiser for the express purpose of being able to just jump on a bike and toodle around the neighborhood. Never underestimate the importance of just going out to play.

[Duck on Wheels]

I agree! Toodle and enjoy! When my sister first planted the idea seed that I might actually do some serious biking, I tested the idea by taking my "comfort" hybrid out for a day's toodle. I just peddled along, slowly, feeling in control, stopping here and there to take pictures, enjoying the feel of the air and smells of Fall leaves, stopping for coffee, stopping at a bookstore, etc. Then when I got home I discovered I'd done 27 miles and HAD FUN DOING IT. That last bit was the clincher. Without that, I never would have gone on with this. So, yes, absolutely! If you've lost that sense of fun, go out and find it again. And maybe the hybrid is the key to that ... going slow, being in control, not worrying about sitting right and so on. Then when you feel like it, you can pull out the road bike again not because you feel you have to, but because you want to go faster or do a longer ride than the hybrid will let you do in a day. That's my 2cents worth, anyway.

[marys]

Dear LateLate,

I totally understand where you are at, but don't put so much pressure on yourself even asking the question!

I was quite a serious rider for 20 years, then had health issues that forced me off the bike. Recent advances in medicine have allowed me to get back on the bike after roughly 10 years. The bike I'm riding is my Cannondale hybrid, and I'm loving it. I appreciate how much fun my riding is, and have learned that any ride is a great ride, no matter how fast or how far.

I have a lovely Terry road bike, and I will be riding her again one day, but for now, I need to feel stable and "safe" and like I know how to ride without thinking every second...and my hybrid is great for that. I also like to tell myself that riding the heavier hybrid will help me get stronger, faster.

I ride now for pleasure; the health benefits come along, but I go out to have fun and meditate on how much I love to ride my bike. Just enjoy!

MaryS

[SadieKate]

LLB, why do you think I have so many bikes? I'm a woman! Gotta have just the right bike to fit my mood. Down and dirty, fast like the wind, tootle and smell the flowers, whatever makes me happy that day.

[latelatebloomer]

Hello, my super friends of the bike persuasion -

This evening, I toodled my hybrid over to the little park right across the road. There's a seldom-used parking loop in the shape of a nice, fat bagel - with a bit of a slope. I found myself going around one way, then the other, just playing, getting myself to relax on the slope. Then I started doing wide u-turns, then some donuts, even some figure eights. Sometimes my heart would pound, so I'd sit and sip water (I added some Rescue Remedy to my bottle .) But my body started to understand about standing on the outside leg on a turn! I've heard it lots, but it always takes me a good long while to get body coordination. (It takes a real saint to teach me a dance step) But I bet that's one of the reasons my cornering felt so awkward - keeping my weight on the seat! I'll go back tomorrow and play again. And when I feel ready, I'll put the snap-on platform pedals on my road bike and play on that without having to worry about clipping in and out.

Thanks for holding my hand (cyber-style.)

[KnottedYet]

Rescue Remedy is a beautiful thing.

Playing on the bike is also a beautiful thing. "If it isn't fun, don't do it." Words to live by, cuz life really is so short.

I went to a bike skills class which covered weight shifts and turning. It was pretty neat to see what I'd been instictively doing, and making it concious.

Have fun, play, and soon you'll be playing on your road bike again. (when you are ready!)

Life is a miracle. Love every moment. And RIDE!!!!