New Gal! Excited about cycling!

[Denise223]

Hi Kerry!

Welcome to the TE forum & the wonderful world of cycling
My husband and I just started riding earlier this month. I'm extremely happy that I found this forum as well . There are lots of wonderful women here.

Like you, I am also fearful of riding in traffic. It is getting a tiny bit better though. (progress !) I wrote about my fears in this forum & one of these wonderful women here sent me a PM and included the following link.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=7394


Here's a link to "Maryland bicycle laws & regulations" as well.

www.cpabc.org/mdlaws.htm

(PHEW.....I almost gave up on putting those links in here.... )

Originally posted by Grog: Riding through traffic, you have to behave like you belong there. It was suggested somewhere else to mentally divide the lane in three and to ride on the virtual line separating the right from the middle third of the road. Unless the shoulder is really significant (4 feet or more), I usually ride on the road, if only because of hedges and trees hiding driveways (and hiding me from drivers coming out of their driveways).

Always remember >> The road is yours too -- You DO belong there!
Just the other day when I was riding in traffic, a bit of fear kicked in and I started riding towards the right. There is no sidewalk in this area, just a few bushes & then the reservoir. A lightbulb went off & I thought to myself, "this is MY road, too - I'm going to take what I need to be safe".

The cars were fine & I felt a lot more comfortable, too! Being timid was only going to land me in the water. I know it will take continued practice...but, that's okay!

One piece of advice, "PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING!" (everyone knows that, but...it's just a reminder). I already had one crash because I heard some noise & saw flashing fire engine lights out of the corner of my eye.
I was curious, took my eyes off the road, & ended up on the ground with my bike on top of me. Thankfully, no one was behind me - and, I wasn't hurt badly - just some bumps & bruises. It's a reminder to me to 'mind my own business!!!'

In closing, Congratulations on your weight loss . It takes a lot of hard work & determination, I know. But, it is well worth it!!! I changed my eating habits & increased my physical activity back in March, 2001 & am happy to say that I have lost 102 pounds! I still have more weight to lose, but I'm very happy where I'm at now.
I know that biking will help. And, what I love about cycling is that it doesn't feel like exercise !!

Have a great evening!

Denise

[Craicgirl]

Tonight Mrs Norris (what I call my lovely new bike) and I went out for a spin. We hit the open road and ventured out amongst the cars. I used all of your advice and stayed in the road and traffic flowed pretty smoothly around me. The area I was riding didn't have a bike lane or even a paved shoulder so I basically had to stay in the road with the cars.

The more I ride the more I fall madly in love with this sport. Tonight riding I was amazed at how much of life we miss when traveling to and fro in a car. I love the smells you encounter. Passing homes I could smell various meals cooking, someone was having a cookout and I smelled fabric softner from dryers full of clothes. I caught whiffs of honeysuckle and magnolia trees, fresh pine when I zipped through a batch of trees near a local park. I encountered various wildlife. A half dozen or so squirrels scurrying up trees as I passed by, a rabbit who wanted to run me off the road and one maniacal chihuahua who once again chased me for half a block along with a very fat squatty dog who took off away from it's human companion to "race" me up the street and a squashed snake.

I am a bit of an amateur photographer (feel free to check out my photoblog at http://www.emotionaltoaster.net...I am always looking for constructive feedback). I need to start taking my camera with me on my rides. The things you see just blow you away. On my early morning rides I have seen misty sunrises over crisp green cornfields, brilliant colored morning glories stretching to greet the day and amazing cloud formations. And I never can capture the moment because the camera sits home. I think I need to find a handy, lightweight carrying case that I can strap it on my back so I never miss these things again.