First real ride on my new road bike

[luvmypwds]

I had such a blast I just had to share! I didn't ride anywhere exciting - just from my house to mid-town and then home again, which basically means lots of traffic and stop lights. Not my favorite type of ride as I am quite scared of riding in traffic (unavoidable if I want to ride relatively close to home). The whole ride took about 75 to 80 minutes (including stops at stop lights).

It was a beautiful sunny day but not too hot, just a little windy at times. There was this one stretch of road where I thought I was going to be blown over! I've never ridden any bike that is so light and responsive (Madone 5.2). I could not believe how easy it was for me to climb hills. I've ridden the same route with my hybrid and I've always thought that I must be the most unfit cyclist, but after today's ride, I must say the bike makes a huge difference. In fact, I barely felt like I had much of a workout as the ride was so effortless.

The only negative thing today was near the end of my ride I almost got hit by a mini-van who didn't see me, or didn't look before making a right turn. Well, it wouldn't have been a bad hit, as I probably would've just hit him lightly as I saw him and put on my breaks already. But I did manage to stop in time. I just couldn't unclip fast enough (still getting used to the clipless pedals, which I absolutely love). The bike tipped to the right but I was able to get off first, though I sort of ended on top of my bike. (I took it back to the store right away to get it checked and it was fine)

Regardless, it was still a great ride and the most fun I've had on a bike in quite some time!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Perhaps reading this will help you in tricky traffic situations:
http://bicyclesafe.com/

Congratulations on enjoying your new bike!!

[JaneE]

Perhaps reading this will help you in tricky traffic situations:
http://bicyclesafe.com/

Very informative site. Great link!

[earthgirl]

luv - congrats on the first ride :-)

and bleeker thanks for posting the site :-) very informative.

[drewkari]

Perhaps reading this will help you in tricky traffic situations:
http://bicyclesafe.com/

Congratulations on enjoying your new bike!!

Thanks for the link! I was on my second ride with my DH yesterday and told him that I wanted to look for a website that talked about car safety!

[luvmypwds]

Thanks for the site link! Very useful indeed.

Well today I went out for another ride - this time around 35 miles - and had a blast! My friend took me up to some country roads and it was just beautiful. Traffic was light, which was a bonus! A beautiful fall day.