The first bike ride

Um, yeah. It didn't go so well. Here's the story:

So I decided it would be a good idea to take a bike ride from Bayonne to meet my aunt and uncle, who were visiting Staten Island. In theory it looked good--it would be a little over 14 miles each way, I was familiar with the route from walking a few years back, and it involved a nice incline/decline on the bridge. The weather was great, I could take what I needed in my back pack, and it would be a great way to start my bike training. I figured, based on my pace on the stationary bike at the gym, it would take about an hour.

Wow. Was I wrong.

First of all, there was construction in Bayonne, and I wound up tacking on a few extra miles there as I got a bit mixed up. Plus I didn't quite remember where the bridge enterance was. But, I found it, and all was well. The bridge was good, I did really good on it (still trying to figure out my gears on the bike, by the way). And then I hit Staten Island.

And here, my friends, it gets sticky. I didn't take into account traffic (lots and lots of traffic), a lack of shoulder on the roads in many spots, a lack of sidewalk in others, and a lack of both in many areas. Riding down Richmond Avenue could almost be considered a suicidal event. I forgot just how fast people drive on that road. Plus not to mention all the cross streets, active drive ways, and people out for a stroll. Oh, and did I mention that there were hills? Never huge, but also never ending. Up after down after up after down. It took me about two hours to get to my destination. Definitely not what I was planning. And by about an hour an a half, my butt hurt so bad I wanted to cry. And I still had to get home.

It was a little better on the way home (I now knew the route and could judge a little better). The first hour on the bike was torture on my butt, but it got a bit better (numb maybe?). It only took me 1 hour and 38 minutes (not that I was counting) to get back. When I got home that was an average of like 7.5 MPH. Totally not what I was thinking.

So what did I learn? I can bike a long distance without training, but it won't be pretty. I need to train in a much lower traffic area. And I need a lot of work on the bike.

Oh, lordy. I think I just may die at my tri.