Sara's First Fall and Other Biking Thoughts

For my birthday and Christmas Matt and his parent's let me buy a road bike (with fancy shoes for the fancy pedals). This is a picture of me in front of my oh so adorable tan apartment building looking sort of enthusiastic to be photographed with my new bike. In all actuality I was really excited and even asked Matthew to take the picture for me, but some how that enthusiasm isn't showing through.

It's been fun to ride around on and feel semi cool in the process. I say semi cool because, over the last year, as I've walked and ridden around town I've noticed an interesting trend. People who walk almost always smile and say hello to passersby. But people who ride generally fall onto a spectrum from casual riders on their cruiser bikes to avid cyclers on their fancy road bikes. The former group generally includes cute old couples and parents with their children. They range in levels of fitness but are really out for a good time. They, like the walkers, almost always say hello.

The other end of the spectrum is then the avid cyclers who can be found wearing the latest in cycling gear - spandex, of course, as well as some cycling jersey, generally of their favorite cycling team. This group almost never says hello. I've had some funny guesses as to why that might be. Could it be they are so intent on being taken seriously that they want to promote a aura of "coolness?" Are they afraid they might be recognized in all of their spandex glory and so take on the 3-year old notion that if I can't see you you can't see me? Are they really that focused on the pavement in front of them so they don't slip and fall? Anyway, I've noticed a trend that where a person falls on the spectrum will generally dictate the likelihood of that person waving and acknowledging others around them.

I must say that I do have some spandex shorts (they are actually under my pants in the picture above) but I don't as of yet have a cycling jersey, which I am okay not to own. It means that I can't be mistaken for an avid cycler and thus fall into the group which doesn't interact with their community. I went for a ride yesterday and felt an odd sense of smugness as I smiled, waved and said hello to my fellow Wenatchens, feeling myself somehow above the spectrum I have heretofore described. I can ride my fancy new bike with my fancy new pedals and not take myself seriously.

Case in point (sorry this is getting kind of long). Today I was stopped at a stop light on my way home from a ride. When the light turned green I started to pedal, but couldn't clip into my pedal quickly enough to maintain my momentum and thus fell over. I have been paranoid about falling ever since getting my bike and now I had done it. I was glad it actually hurt a lot less than I thought it would, though that may be because I simply tipped over instead of falling with any real force. As I lay there trying to get from under the bicycle I noticed one other car at the stop light, who was, I'm sure partially amused and partially concerned for my well being. I got up, waved to let them know I was okay, and walked my bike across the street to where I could try getting back onto my bike. But the whole time, I couldn't help but be completely entertained by my own fall. No bruised ego and thankfully no bruised body, just "silly Sara, well at least you gave someone something to chuckle at."

So there it is, I'm excited for my fancy new bicycle and I'm excited to feel cool while still maintaining both a sense of humor and a sense of community.