Really proud of myself! (Add yours!)

[GulfCoastAmy]

I have now been riding for one month. When I started I wasn't sure if cycling was something I would stick with. Fast forward to today when I can't imagine NOT riding!

In my first month I have ridden 6 days a week, 411 miles total, with my longest single ride being 33 miles. All of this on my trusty old MTB.

I am so excited and proud of myself and can't wait to see what the next month will bring! And now that I know I'm "serious", I am going to treat myself to some padded shorts and slicks. (eventually a new bike, hopefully!)

So, what are you proud of? No matter how big or how small, I want to hear some horn tooting!

[Biciclista]

hey congrats, Amy.
I have done over 80 bike commutes this year.

[pinkbikes]

Fantastic! Keep turning those pedals girls!

My proud moment came the night before last. I had a mechanical moment that really rocked. I am a little bit mechanically minded and can fumble my way through most of the basics, and would even say I'm pretty damned good at the really basic things like changing tyres.

But the other night I pulled out the fork of my mountain bike, used the Fox video online and pulled the fork apart and serviced it and put new enduro seals in it. And I actually got it all back together and back on the bike like new! And with all the controls working!

The casualty list read:

- one thumbnail (slipped and bent it right back when pressing the seals home)
- one ball bearing (dropped one of those teensy tiny little 2mm bearings ten times and only found it nine times - so had to get a new one for 10cents)

Of course the real kicker came when I went to go out and take it for a ride yesterday and found I'd broken a spoke the day before. So I had another mechanical experience getting a new spoke and nipple, removing the old spoke and replacing it (it had to be on the back wheel of course, so brake disk and cassette had to come off to get it out).

I am feeling so mechanical it *hurts*!

[Tri Girl]

you are a mechanical stud, pinkbike!

Great job Amy!!! I'm thrilled for you and your new-found love of riding. It's the BEST, isn't it?

It's not 80 commutes like Mimi (wow!), but I've commuted 7 out of the 9 days since school started (it beats the 4 out of 350 days at my last school that was too far away to ride to).
I look forward to getting out of bed and making the very short 15 min. commute to work, and am just as excited to get on my bike at the end of the day. I find I don't want to go for longer rides during the week now, but that's OK with me because I wasn't doing much more than 30 min/day before anyway. The kids at school are noticing and have commented on my bike rides. I hope to inspire some of them to ride their bikes to school.

[Wahine]

This thread is fantastic.

Good work Amy, you certainly deserve some shorts and slicks!

Mimi you rock.

PinkBikes - I am always so pleased with myself when I fix something. Well done. And it's good to have some wounds to prove you did it!

TriGirl - no matter what the commute, commuting is a really good thing. Way to go.

I am proud of riding twice today, my mtn bike at lunch and my road bike at tri club workout. AND I am proud of riding so hard at one point in each of these rides to get a little pukey. It sounds sick, but it's what I need to do. Endurance I got, speed and power, not so much.

[Owlie]

I figured out how to change a flat, and I'm starting to work out the mechanical stuff too! (I'm someone who likes to work with her hands, but is mechanically inept.)

[CyborgQueen]

Within one month, I rode 300 miles...and I'm a new rider. So I'll say that's pretty darn tooting for me!

I need new shorts as well.

I'm impressed with your feat on a mtb...you'll rock it hard when you get the slicks or road bike in the future. I could barely do 5 miles on my mtb! Now, i'm rocking 20 miles a ride.

[Medianox]

Amy-Congrats! Thats fantastic! And, since we are practically bike twins, I know how hard it is to keep going sometimes-but there is something about it that just feels too good to stop!!
Thing I'm most proud of...since mid July I have ridden at least 6 days a week. Three days I commute to work (6 miles total per day on those days), 2 days I ride my 10 mile loop and on the other day I ride as far as I can (18-20+ miles)-then I take a day off. My body loves it but my brain still wants to be out riding!
Thing I am happiest about-going bike shopping this weekend!
High fives to everyone!

[GulfCoastAmy]

These are awesome!! Keep 'em coming!

[graceomalley]

Oh, I am so impressed Amy! FANTASTIC achievement.

pinkbikes, I am so terribly bowled-over by your fork accomplishment. That has got to feel terrific!

Cyborg Queen, 300 miles in one month is fantastic!

While I am packing up a 3400 sq ft house to move and am back in nursing school FT, my mind wanders back to the trails and can't wait for a free hour to get out there on my bicycle and ride!

[momtohanna]

I did my first 20 mile ride this week. I've only been riding a few weeks and even 2 weeks ago I wondered if I would be able to ride 35 miles for my first scheduled organized ride at the end of Sept. Now I have no doubt I can do it, and will do it before the ride for sure!!

Congrats everyone on your accomplishments ~ I would like to start tackling the mechanical stuff soon, so far, hubby's done it all.

[staceysue]

I love this thread! It's inspiring to hear about everybody's successes and excitement.

I'm proud of myself because I'm almost 40 and I've never been athletic before. I was never in sports in school, and hated gym, and at my age I've found 2 sports that I love. I've kept up XC skiing every winter for 4 years and this is the second summer I've bicycled, besides just around the campgrounds. The cycling bug bit me hard a couple of weeks ago just like the ski bug did 4 years ago, and I know I'm in it for life now. It makes me proud that I'll be doing something athletic year-round.

It also makes me proud that I'm doing this for the love of it and not because I want to lose weight and look pretty.

[lauraelmore1033]

I used to have this hill that I considered an evil nemisis hill. I always had to dismount about half way up and walk the rest of the way. I'd forgotten about that until yesterday when I encountered the hill (which is a no big deal hill by now) and there was a group of young men huffing and chuffing and walking their bikes up it. it was a good feeling to realize how much I have improved.

[Trek420]

And to dust them

[copperlegend]

I've had my bike for just about a month now, and I've ridden it from work (drove there in my subaru, parked the car overnight, rode home) then to work the next day. It's 18 miles, lots of hills, but nothing crazy. Riding home took 1.5 hours, riding to work was just under an hour! Planning on commuting 3 times next week. Added bonus: there's a HUGE sunflower field on the back roads, and they're in bloom right now!!!

Yep, I'm addicted