It’s that time of year when the birds are singing, the days are getting longer, and the temperature’s getting warmer. This can mean only one thing: it’s time to pull out the bikes! Road bikes for the week days and mountain bikes for the weekends. Right now my couch-sitting muscles are stronger than my hill-climbing muscles, as my ride over the weekend proved to me. But a few weeks of steady riding and I’ll be back in shape.
If you happen to be driving in Crofton and you spot a giant man and a small woman cycling, please don’t stare, curse, or honk. We know that cyclists can be a source of annoyance for drivers, but if you’ve never tried it, you just can’t understand how much fun it is. Ben and I don’t do it for the exercise, even though it is great for that. We do it for the sake of pure enjoyment. Most days. Some days are about beating my record time, other days are just about finishing. But we always have a good time, and we’ve found it to be a source of bonding in our relationship.
With perhaps a few exceptions. Like the first time I was learning to ride my road bike, which was also the first time I had cycling shoes clipped into the pedals. I had just clipped in and was starting to roll through the parking lot when Ben became lost in thought and drifted in front of me. His rear wheel rubbed my front wheel and took me down. My feet were locked in and all I had to soften my fall was my hip and shoulder. You could say I was a little irritated with him. We laugh about it now.
The clips do come in handy, but you have to remember that your feet have become one with the pedals. At the end of St. Stephen’s Church Road where it runs into Defense Highway, there’s a steep downhill curve that can be a little intimidating for a first time cyclist. As I slowed to a stop, heart pounding, grateful that I hadn’t careened out of control or lost my grip on the brakes, I let out a sigh of relief. Just then, I tipped sideways in slow motion and landed on the same hip and shoulder that I had banged up in the parking lot. This time scraping my knee open and prompting the experienced cyclists that passed to stop and check on me. Despite the blood trickling down my shin, my pride was more badly injured than my knee. I have to admit that it took several such slow motion falls before I remembered to always unclip before stopping.
Ben is not a naturally patient personality, but he was very encouraging and tolerant of me as I learned to cycle. Well, most of the time. I do have a vivid memory of being called “Gear Retarded” because I was having a bad day and struggling to get into the right gear at the right time. But I don’t believe he ever made that mistake again. And I improved drastically after that, out of sheer spite.
But despite a few minor mishaps along the way, we’ve found cycling together to be a great outlet for stress and a great opportunity to grow together as a couple. Ben knows when to be patient if I’m not at my best, and when to push me when he knows I can do more.
Remember when you used to ride your bike with your best friend as a kid? It’s like reliving those moments as we soar over the pavement together.
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