Man, it's hard to believe that the holidays are well behind us now. It seems like just yesterday we were making travel plans and hearing the shopping reminders of how many more days we had till Christmas.
I had a great 2 weeks catching up with family, friends, and friends I hadn't seen in years. It was the perfect way to start the year. I also got to tag on a trip to NYC to spend with those I love. With that though, came lots of holiday food, and not a bike for miles.
So, it's time to get back and get serious.
I have a couple of rides that I video'd snips of, that I need to post, but I'll do that a little out of order.
I did my first good, long ride of 2011 last Saturday. I found my way to the nearest entry spot of the LA River (My friend, Vickie said, "I don't even think of rivers in LA"). Well, for those equally confused...think of the big concrete canal that they raced cars in, in the movie Grease. That's the LA River. And in some spots, it actually looks like a river (Not in the picture I'm posting though).
But still, the path along the river is nice (maybe not enough hills) and makes for an interesting ride.
I did 31 miles total, and the only really tough part was getting there via Los Feliz Blvd. (suicide).
Also, I am still learning how to get comfortable with the clip pedals. I almost killed myself a couple of times when I stopped and didn't unclip, almost falling sideways (once into traffic). Ahhhhh the excitement of being new at something. What's worse, at one intersection when I looked like I was wrestling with my bike, I got a nice bloody knock to the shin, and I had to sit there for the light once I regained my composure. I assumed those stopped for the light got a kick out of my ridiculousness, as I sure would have been laughing had the crazy shoe been on the other foot. There's nothing like the look of someone falling sideways clamped to their bike as their body goes into physical panic.
I can't wait to get better at this.
