A couple of weeks ago I got on a bike for the first time in a VERY long time. My husband bought me a used bike in an attempt to get me used to riding it again. He was hoping that perhaps we’d be a biking family. He enjoys cycling and riding on his bike and can’t wait until my daughter is big enough to put her in an attachment or seat so she can join him for his excursions.
I got on the bike and recalled why I hadn’t been on a bike in more than 15 years. I had a crazy accident on a bike in Italy that has lived in my memory since it happened. My cousins and I would go out before 8 am to ride our bikes around the town. Before 8 was perfect because very few people were out at that time, it was still cool and the roads were closed off to traffic for garbage collection. We had done this ride almost every week in the summers when I was visiting.
One particular day, we headed out as usual. We made our way from our house up on a hill to downtown. The usual suspects were converging on the main street. We waved at the garbage collectors, the street sweepers, and the old men who sat at their usual coffee bars discussing soccer and politics. At one point, I hit a bump in the road and went flying right into one of the street sweepers carts. I then bounced off of the cart and felt into the street. I hit my head and cut my knee pretty badly. The cart fell on top of me and my bike dropped just beside me. I lay there for a while because it got very hazy.
My cousins and a number of passersby came to see how I was. I was dizzy and bleeding but relatively fine. One of my cousins decided that I should probably finish for the day and accompanied me back home on foot with our bikes in tow. Since that day, I haven’t been on a moving bicycle, until a few weeks ago.
Being on the bike freaked me out. Not because I recalled my accident but because I couldn’t really touch my feet completely to the ground. My husband tried to convince me that since I spin, that it is the same thing as riding a moving bicycle. I begged to disagree considerably. I told him that a spin bike is bolted to the floor; it doesn’t move. He said the same muscles that keep me from falling off a stationery bike are the same as the ones used to ride a regular bike. I was very doubtful.
Not sure if I will try to ride that bike anytime soon. I need to get a helmet and some knee and elbow pads. I know that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget. However, I need to get my biking muscles back in gear. I don’t think those are the same ones used for a stationery bike.
1 comment:
Wow, that's quite an accident! I didn't know about that, nor that you hadn't been on a real bike in so long. Kudos to you for being willing to try it again after all these years.
I have to agree with Memo about your biking abilities. You will not fall down and your legs don't need to be super strong to ride a bike. You can lower your seat a little so your feet can touch the ground when you sit on it if it makes you feel more secure. Eventually you will want to raise it again, though, b/c keeping it that low will give you knee problems in the long run. But if it will give you a greater sense of security in the short term while you get used to your bike, go for it.
Yay for bikes! :)
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