Bec's Happybox

Cycling Update

I have another flat!  Oh joy!  I'm so happy! I'm so happy I might stab myself six times!

Tobias says "More opportunities for you to practice".  He is a sick individual.  Tobias says "The shop will charge you 15 dollars for that!" He is a cheap bastard.  Tobias says "Each time you do it, it will take less time."  Tobias is a bad person. 

Other than that, the cycling has been pretty good.  Well, I like it, anyway.   M'hijo is unpredictable.  Last Saturday, Tobias pulled the trailer and the four of us rode to Willows Galley for fish and chips and then to Willows Beach to stare at the ocean.  (Because apparently we are tired of our own ocean and must look at the Oak Bay people's ocean.)  M'hijo was pretty happy the whole time we were out. 

Then, on Tuesday, I took him and Sahsez to church with me for a meeting and he was miserable.  He cried until he fell asleep, both ways!  And it's only a fifteen-minute ride! 

So our family's future on bikes is still uncertain.  Sahsez wants to make last Friday's trip up the hill to the student union building for pizza a weekly event, so that means more M'hijo-in-the-trailer this afternoon.  Will he scream?  (Rrobably) Will he sleep?  (Probably) Will I stress about him getting enough oxygen? (Yes) Will I stress about Sahsez riding in traffic?  (Yes) Will M'hijo mind his helmet?  (Yes) Will he notice all the toys I put in the trailer to amuse him?  (No) If he screams, will pedestrians look at me like I am the devil?  (Yes) Will people stare and point regardless of what M'hijo does, because even after two years, my recumbent is still an object of fascination (and possibly derision)? (Yes)  Will we take the long way home?  (Unless he is screaming bloody murder, yes we will).

Back in the Saddle

Hmmm, I think I almost feel that yesterday's trauma was worth it.  Last night I rode my bike out to the Haqshaq for a book club meeting and man, it was good. 

It's been a long time since I've done any riding, despite the fact that I used to be a daily bike commuter, and used to haul Sahsez all around Waterloo in a bike trailer during her toddlerhood.  See what happened was, about a year ago, my bike got damaged while parked and was unrideable.  I was pregnant and lazy and didn't get it fixed. 

A couple of months ago, we finally took Django into the shop and got her in rideable condition again.  But very soon after that, Tobias rode her to work and got a flat.  So she's been sitting in the shed for about six weeks, waiting for someone to fix that. 

Which brings us to yesterday, and the less said about yesterday, the better. 

But!  Last night! Was great!  I loved riding her, I didn't have any difficulty with the balance (recumbents are slightly trickier than uprights for balance), I didn't find it difficult physically, and, most exciting, I didn't feel nervous in traffic.  I thought I might after so much time off.  Also, the last riding I did was in Amsterdam, and in Amsterdam it's such a totally different experience, there's really no call for nervousness re: cars.  So I didn't know if I would revert to my old nervous Nellie ways.  I'm glad to say I didn't, even when we rode through the middle of the tourist district last night, doding hapless pedestrians, hansom cabs, regular cabs, and tour busses all the way. 

Today, I have no soreness at all, which I thought I might, given that my cycling muscles have been laying dormant, or so I thought.  I guess jogging and Tae Kwon-Do have kept me in good enough shape so that it doesn't matter that I haven't been doing those exact motions. 

The only sour note was yesterday afternoon, when Sahsez, M'hijo and I took another trip together, up the hill to get a slice of pizza and a root beer for Sahsez.  M'hijo cried the entire time.  It really sucked.  I hope that trip, and not the earlier one, was a fluke.  I'm planning on doing a lot of riding this weekend, so I guess we'll find out.