My New Set of Wheels!

My bike is old. I mean really old. I bought it back in high school or shortly after graduating. I knew nothing in the way of bikes. So I just bought a bike from someone, I can't even remember who. But nonetheless, I had a bike! Woo Hoo! I was stoked!

Oh, to be young and naive again. =-)  I had no clue that I bought a bike that had a frame that was way to big for me and made of {solid} metal, I swear. I am tempted to cut it open and see if it is solid because all I know is the thing is heavy!

But that bike holds memories. 

Like the time it almost cost me my relationship with Kurt . . .

When Kurt and I started dating he was a hard core mountain biker. Like crazy mountain biker. So about a week or 2 after we started dating he invited me to go on a bike ride with him and a friend and his friend's girlfriend. They were just going to ride from his friends house in Folsom to Folsom Lake - all neighborhoods or paved bike trails. "Oh, I can totally do that," I naively thought. Ha!

So the first problem was that we ate breakfast before we went. At that time in my life I never ate breakfast. I was a breakfast skipper but this morning I pounded down french toast, bacon, orange juice and whatever else they prepared. Bad idea.

The next problem is that that darn bike is heavy and I wasn't in shape / riding it very often so after the first couple of hills I was dying! I finally had to admit that I couldn't go any further. I got off my bike and collapsed on the side yard of some house in a neighborhood. I really thought I was going to loose all my breakfast. It was horrible. The 3 of them just stood there straddling their bikes watching me as I tried to not throw up. Classy, very classy!

There was no way I could get back on that bike so his friend and the girlfriend rode their bikes back to his house and got his truck to come pick me up. So embarrassing! Kurt was so sweet though. He stayed with me and talked to me. He wasn't mad at all but I was totally thinking "oh, well. That was a fun relationship. No way is this hard core biker going to stay with someone who can't even make it a short distance." So I pretty much wrote us off. When his friend came back with his truck, he picked up my bike to put it in the truck and said "Holy Cow! This bike is stinkin' HEAVY." Yes, I know. I just smiled. And as you can tell, that wasn't the end of our relationship. He was willing to overlook the lack of my bike riding skills. Although, I don't think he asked me to go on any more bike rides for awhile after that . . . 

Or the memory of my rock solid legs in college . . .

There was a time in college that I would come home from work or school and hop on that bike and ride it all through the neighborhood where I lived. I started off gradually but I eventually got to the point that I would put the bike in the hardest to pedal gear possible and I would ride hard the whole time. It was brutal but I'll tell you that my legs rocked. They were rock solid. It was awesome. I really loved those rides. They were very stress-relieving. 

Or the memory of wanting to chuck that bike in the ocean and buy a new one . . .

When we went on our last camping trip (where we took the bike ride along the coast), I was ready to throw that bike in the ocean. I was dying. I was pedaling twice as much as everyone else and I was falling behind. Plus, with a frame that is way to big for me, I have serious issues with reaching the handle bars and with the seat being comfortable so I was pretty much miserable. Kurt has wanted to buy me a new bike for years but I was always to cheap to fork out the money so I would just keep riding that bike but this trip made me realize that this was a really bad idea. I even told him he could buy me a bike when we reached the town we were going to so I could ride the new bike back. Ha ha! Just for the record - If we had passed a bike shop, I would have totally done it! And when our friend was helping Kurt load the bikes back up, guess what he said when he lifted mine? "Holy Cow! This bike is stinkin' HEAVY." Yes, yes, I know.

But guess what? Guess what I got for my belated birthday / early Mother's Day? 

I GOT A NEW BIKE!!!!!

I am so excited! Isn't she pretty?

She has these fun little swirly decorations on her.

I love going for rides now. Ok, I have had it for like 2 days (since Tuesday) but I am loving it! And guess what? The frame is my size! And I am pretty sure she isn't made of solid metal! And I can reach the handle bars! Woo Hoo!

I have even braved putting Trevor's wagon behind it and going for rides. We live at the top of a serious hill. It doesn't seem so bad when your driving but trust me, you go for a walk or get on a bike and it's a serious hill. Then add a 40 pound baby wagon behind you and you are in for a workout! But I have gone out every day or twice a day or whenever my kids say "hey, let's go for a ride!" I even rode it over to a house that I had a meeting at last night. Totally love'n it!

So here's my new set of wheels. And here's to lots of fun riding.

And some rock solid legs again wouldn't be too bad either!