One hundred hilly miles that take you through breathtaking views of southern Indiana! This was my first experience riding amongst other cyclists. Knowing my past hospital track record, I decided to ride on a tandem in order to feel more comfortable. Zach, my boyfriend, was the captain (front) and I was the stoker (back). If any couples/friends are looking for ideas to improve their communication skills with each others then they should try riding a tandem bike together!
Riding a tandem may seem easy, especially as the stoker, but it takes coordination and communication with the captain to successfully ride. The monon trail became the usual spot to train to build trust and synchronize with each other. Our first problem was successfully mounting the bike. The bike was not custom fit for us, due to the amazing deal we got on craigslist, but this meant that mounting the bike was slightly difficult at first. Our next defeat was starting the bike. It is quite difficult to get momentum and synchronization from two people until you practice. Starting at first required counting, deciding where the pedals should be located, and balance. Thankfully, I was a dancer since the age of 5, and I have some practice on balancing. I would try to sit on the bike while I waited for my captain to get situated. After some practice and several times counting down from three, we have mastered this technique. Since we needed to pedal after switching, we worked on shifting gears. There were several times where the pedals would hit me due to lack of communication. I did not realize that it requires continuous pedaling in order to shift up or down. The captain would inform me that we were shifting and would command pedal twice. This helped to decrease the amount of bruising seen around my ankles from the pedals.
Being a stoker during the Hilly Hundred allowed me to become comfortable riding alongside other cyclists. I learned the proper hand motions and mannerisms of cyclists. For example, when passing another bike you should pass on the left while informing the other person. To inform the other cyclist simply saying "on your left" is sufficient communication. As a non-confident rider, I enjoyed riding as the stoker. I did not need to worry about breaking, shifting, or steering and I could enjoy the scene around me. You do not have the best view, because there is a person in front of you, but they do block all of the wind! Overall, the experience was amazing!
THE RIDE!
Due to the two of us being in our last year of pharmacy school, we could not get to the camp site until later that night. When we arrived it was starting to rain. Our wonderful friends, Trent and Leanne, helped us with the tent. Unfortunately, water had seeped into the tent and I woke up in a puddle! From there we gathered our bags and slept in the car for the remainder of the night. This is the reason why I am not fond of camping.
The first day of the trip we had freezing rain. We wanted to start at 7 A.M., but due to the weather we decided to start at 9 A.M. Thankfully, there was a huge biking tent where people could buy bike gear. (Yes, we stocked up on rain gear!) We were ready to rock and roll as we approached the starter's line...and the chain fell off. This is when we knew that our first bike event was not going to roll as smoothly as we would prefer. The chain constantly fell off and we only had 1/3 of our gears, but through communication and positivity we were able to work through these kinks and successful ride in this two day event. In the first day we rode 63 miles, leaving the remaining 47 miles for Sunday. The most amazing part was the shower trucks, especially after riding in the freezing rain. Saturday night we were able to enjoy the company of our friends at a local brewery. Next year we hope to wrap the handlebars in pink to support breast cancer!
Since I loved this event, I asked Zach if we could do another bike trip. We decided to ride the Natchez Trail, which is a 444 mile long bike ride that starts in Nashville, TN and ends in Mississippi. I am excited to prepare for this event and view the scenic parts of southern region of the United States.
Rather than sit here for an hour trying to think of an intro paragraph like I'm writing a paper or something I'm just writing this sentence then jumping in to what I see (not getting graded is nice these days!):
ReplyDeleteAs far as the camping goes, setting up a rain fly on top correctly and learning the finesse for placing a proper ground sheet or tarp underneath the tent helps TONS for avoiding the dreaded tent puddle. I could advise you but the internet and Youtube searches yield many better advice sources than I probably could give. Also I've spent the last 3-4 camping trips in a newly purchased hammock, love that thing! =D
Secondly it's super cool to see someone else's beginner's process and progress. I started riding mostly just as the Fall 2013 semester began and had to teach myself the basics and etiquette based on what just seemed to be the right thing to do. Mostly this was in relation to the terribly inattentive pedestrians around campus, but after a month or so I dropped any incidence or near miss incidence rate down to weeks per incident, not incidents per week.
Now I've gone since December without riding, as bad as winter was and since I moved and started work. I'm really hoping to get my ass in gear to ride either here in Steger, in one of the Cook Forest Preserves, or take my bike downtown for a day. Just gotta plunge in and do it, haha.
Glad to see you having tons of fun with this though! We never see each other or get to talk, but knowing the similar experience is there is a cozy thought.
Ride on!
-Alex