The most recent time I went camping with my folks, I got to ride a bike around the campsite. It more fun than I recalled and I decided that I should own a bike again.
So, I took myself to Dick’s Sporting Goods with a plan. I’m a quick decider when it comes to purchases – which is why I’m no longer allowed to go shoe shopping with my Mom. Or grocery shopping – after the “green beans incident”.
I went to the bike area and started looking around and then the bike expert arrived and asked if he could help me.
I told him I was looking for a bike, a helmet, and a rack to put it on my car.
He asked if the bike was for me and I told him it was. He then asked where I’d be riding it and I told him “mostly paved roads, but I don’t want to be uncontrollable if I hit a little gravel”
He nodded and then pulled a bike off the rack. It was a red and black Schwinn. He said that they had just put that together recently and it was on sale. He made some adjustments to the seat based on my height and I told him I’d take it. There’s one.
Next, the helmet. There were helmets on sale and I quickly picked out a black one that would match the bike. And two.
Then, the bike rack. There weren’t a lot of options and we found one that had my style of car listed as viable. And three.
He put the bike up on the work-station and gave it a once over again to make sure everything was good while I filled out some paperwork. From there, we headed up to the front and I paid for the bike. Smooth sailing.
Riiiiiiight up until I had to get the bike rack mounted. Oh, there were plenty of instructions with little happy and frowny faces as guides, but having never put one of these on before I was wildly unconfident.
After several partial successes (i.e. failures), I managed to get the bike mounted with some trepidation. I fired up the GPS, set a non-highway route, and headed home. I was going along okay – keeping a close eye on the bike through the rear window – when I went through a green light and had the driver of the truck next to me lay on the horn and shout at me that I was in a turn-only lane. I came to a complete halt, let him proceed, and was mortified and relieved that I had almost caused an accident.
(note: the next time I went through that same intersection, I realized my lane had been “left or straight” and his was “right turn only”. I was, as it turns out, in the right. Insert sigh of relief and vindication here.)
I stopped at Jim’s house to show him the bike and then went on home. I’ve been riding it around a bit – it’s harder work than I remember – but haven’t tried the bike rack again. And I’m still concerned about highway driving. I mean, with the bike on the rack of my car while I’m driving the car on a highway. Not riding my bike on the highway or highway driving in general – in case there was any confusion.
So, I’ve got a bike now. And I’m technically able to participate in a triathlon, though I’m totally not going to do that.