my bike (as of yet unnamed ... maybe stinger?)

Yeah, I think Stinger. She'll be yellow and black (with a little extra color thrown in). And we're Beesons in this house. Stinger seems just about right.

She might not look like much right now:



But Patrick's in the middle of a rebuild. The frame used to be a whole bike, which used to belong to my mom, who gave it to me several months ago. It sat unused in our garage, and then after lots of casual conversations about how to update it, Patrick got a fire under his butt and did it. (Thank goodness, because if it was up to me, it never would have gotten done; I love a husband who knows how to take apart and put together bikes).

He'll add these bull-horn handles (to be covered in black tape):

(by Nitto)

- a new seat
- new break levers
- tires that Patrick had (on another bike? laying around? It's a mystery.)
- and a new helmet for me (in black)

Hey, so you know what this means? I actually have to ride my bike. A lot. Because there's this effort put into it now, and purpose.

Maybe I should set up some little goals for me and my new bike.

goals for me & my new bike
This whole being best friends with a bike thing is completely new, so I'll start pretty green. That's just fine with me. I have plenty of time ahead with my butt planted in that seat.

Best friends forever (??)

Neighborhood ride! Start simple. Our neighborhood is quiet and family friendly, which means I'm not worried about the cars riding up and down the narrow-ish roads. Another thing about it, though, is the hills: just challenging enough for a newbie like me. I'll see if Patrick can hook up the bike speedometer for me so I can work on increasing the length of my rides. I wonder if I can do a 10-mile ride without any backtracking ...

Neighborhood ride, phase 2: take the puppy. Patrick, who has not only bike mojo but puppy mojo, sometimes takes Saazie on a bike ride. I've tagged along once, on my own bike, and it looked easy enough (except for that one moment that she decided to dart across his path and kinda sorta knock him around). If I could conquer the bike with a dog, then ... "hi, I'm awesome; how are you?"

Recreate our 23-mile bike ride from Sunday. I took a mountain bike on our last ride (another hand-me-down, from Patrick's mom. Pattern?). The positioning will be different on this new bike, the tires a little narrower, a different braking and handlebar setup. I mean, it's a road bike, which I've never riden. Ever! Well, once. And it was this very bike, but probably 15 years ago. And it frightened the hell out of me. Something about the handlebars being so low.

Ride to Metro Pulse. I do part-time work for Metro Pulse once a week, in the afternoon and into the evening. I want to wait for the weather to get cooler so I don't get to the office stinky. But autumn is officially a week away. So I won't be able to use weather for an excuse much longer. My biggest challenges with this ride will be 1) being in shape enough to make it and look respectable; and 2) feeling confident enough sharing the road with cars to make the ride by myself (having Patrick on long rides gives me an incalculable boost of confidence).