Fastfeet

In April of 2006, I decided I needed to take up cycling and drove to Black Mountain Bike Shop to test ride bikes.  It all started with one tall, skinny kid and a blue road bike.  As I stared happily at its shiny newness, the kid told me to take it outside for a ride in the parking lot. To be on the safe side, I walked with the bike at my side out the door of the bike store to the sidewalk.  It had been over twelve years since I had ridden a road bike, and my total road biking experiences would total two if you counted this endeavor.  With nervous excitement, I stood over the bike & slipped one of my feet into the rat traps, also known as toe clips.  I pushed off a little while attempting to get my other foot in the other toe clip.  Immediately, I was out of control.  The front tire jerked wildly left and right while I over-corrected repeatedly, and I began deviating towards a landscaped area of the sidewalk.  Before I knew it, I had run into the upright landscape timbers.  With my foot still stuck in the toe clip, I tipped over sideways into a bush, bringing the bike with me.  The tall, skinny bike kid had been watching this ridiculous display of dis-coordination.  Laughing it off was my only option.  With my pride and my leg bruised, I pulled my foot out of the toe clip and got up.  Everyone was smiling.  The bike kid was the first to speak, “So now I’m not the only one to hit that.”

To this day, I am still not sure if he was serious or just trying to make me feel better.  Either way, I definitely appreciated it.  Of course, I apologized for crashing the bike.  I figured I would just quietly slink back to my car.  But the bike store kid had a different idea.  He decided that I need to try another bigger bike (as if crashing the first one wasn’t enough).  The kid was either a glutton for punishment, desperate for a sale, or wanting to witness another ridiculous crash.  He returned bike number one to the rack and picked out another one for me.  “I’ll have to air up the tires on this one.  I’ll be right back,” he told me.

He took the bike into the back of the shop, disappearing around a corner.  He was gone for about ten minutes.  I may have been new to the sport but I am fairly certain that he not only aired up the bike tires, but also shared my first road bike riding experience with the other bike shop workers.  I hope it provided some humor to finish off their work day.  My second test ride went without collision.

I now cycle three times a week.  While I am still improving my skills of balance and control, I am proud to report that I haven’t had a single episode of landscape collision since the first one.