Biking is hard

So, I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been living up to the name of this blog lately.  I can't even remember the last time I was out on a bike before today - at least a month, probably more.  And before that, it was almost exclusively on my trainer inside the house, in front of the tv.  The only time I've even thought about riding was when I went home to Denver for a week and had a beautiful sunny afternoon walking along the Platte River that actually made it physically painful to not be on my bike.

But it's been over 70 degrees and sunny all week (which never happens in England) and I was starting to feel a little guilty for wasting the beautiful weather by sitting around inside.  I haven't been inspired to do anything (my husband deployed earlier this week) and it's been really difficult to get my butt off the couch.  But I told myself I would feel better if I went, and I did! There is something about being outside in the sunshine that seems to make everything else just a little bit better.

However... there are a few things I learned that I want to share with you...

Biking is hard.  Especially when the bike is not held up for you and you have to do this thing called balancing.  It's much harder when the bike is moving.  You also have to shift (and not when Coach Troy from Spinervals tells you to - you have to decide!).  It's best not to attempt complex moves like getting a bottle of water from your cage and drinking - for some strange reason, the bike tended to go all over the road when I tried that. 

But despite all that, it was a great day out on my bike.  One that makes you remember that you actually do love cycling and that, even for just a few minutes, it makes everything else better.

Tour of Britain - I beat Bradley Wiggins

Ok... so maybe I didn't beat Bradley Wiggins, really. But I was on my bike and he was on his bike and I was in front of him and I got to where I was going before he did.  So... I'm pretty sure that means I beat him.  Even though, the race hadn't technically started... and I finished about 400m after I started.

So... the story is that Stage 7 of the Tour of Britain left from Bury St. Edmunds this morning and the bike shop I work at was given the opportunity to be part of the community cyclists who led out the stage.  Basically, we hung out in front of the starting line and rode just ahead of the pros for about the first 400m of the neutral zone - before they actually started racing.

Very fun - cool to be inside the barriers instead of on the sidelines for once.  I pretended that all the spectators were there just to see me.  Made me feel pretty popular for a few minutes. 

We saw Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas walking down the stairs from signing on, but we weren't really close enoug h to get a photo.  We did get to see all the riders ride by after we pulled off, which was pretty cool (although I didn't manage to get any pictures of these guys specifically). But I did manage to get these pictures of some of the peloton as they rode past!

Fun times had by all... plus, today was the day I managed to beat an entire pro peloton... including Bradley Wiggins!