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June 03, 2006
I bought a refurbished bike a couple of weeks ago, from the non-profit Community Cycling Center. It was built in Austria, and was owned by a University of Oregon student for a time before it landed in my hands.
It's a street bike, with low-down handle bars and gear shifts controlled by levers. I've never ridden anything else like it. I bought it even though I felt wobbly and had a hard time steering and braking after my test ride at the store.
Bicycle commuters tell me it's normal to feel uneasy when you're first breaking in a new bike.
So today I took it out for a half hour ride, from home to a park, around the park a few times, then home again. Just in 30 minutes, I became much more comfortable with the bike. Riding home was considerably easier than riding there, as my confidence on the road had improved.
Tomorrow I may practice riding to the base of the I-5 bridge and back. I'd have to ride across the bridge to downtown Vancouver in order to bike the 7 miles to work. I think it will be at least another two weeks before I'm ready to try that.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at June 3, 2006 04:15 PM