Drive by (ride by?)

Backroads Century was fun.
OBX beach time was fantastic.
Work week has been crazy busy due to out-of-commission laptop and boss visit.
Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Howl-o-Scream at Busch Gardens on tap for this Friday through Monday.

There will be actual content and lots and lots of photos next week. Promise!

Kate on the sound-side boardwalk in Duck, NC.

Joy ride

My cabin fever got the better of me this morning and I sneaked out to my hair appointment via Kate the cruiser while Scott was getting his ears lowered at the barber shop. It was SO GOOD to be on my sweet little cruiser and feeling the cooling breeze on the mile and a half ride to the salon.

Scott was pretty shocked to get home and see the Highlander still parked out front. He sent a text that I shouldn't be pig-headed about overdoing it like he usually is. I promised that I had taken it slow and easy and would continue to do so.

After the re-blonding and trim, I wasn't ready to go home just yet and rode up and down the trail between the Boulevard and Church. As I was just about to leave the trail, I decided to snag some take-out Chinese. As I waited outside the shop, several people, mostly guys, commented on my "cool" bike. Considering that one sees mostly hybrids, mountain, or road bikes on the roads and trails around here, she is pretty unusual in these parts.

I still don't have x-ray results because, as of Friday evening, the nurse practitioner hadn't received the files from the lab. The swelling and bruising are receding but the ball of my foot continues to be very sore and I limp when I walk more than a few steps. I'm sad that I wasn't able to participate in my bike club's tour of DC monuments tonight, but I'm happy to have gotten in a little bit of saddle time this afternoon.

Missing the point

The weather was absolutely gorgeous when I got home from work and I decided to give my darling single speed cruiser Kate a little bit of love. She gets neglected as I choose Lily the hybrid for my commute and Circe the road bike for distance training. Kate is adorable -- there's no denying that -- but I have the tiniest bit of buyer's remorse because she was SUCH an impulse purchase and isn't the most practical bike around.

I cruised up and around the neighborhood, mashing as hard as I could to get up hills and hanging on for dear life while coasting down. I've decided that I really, really don't like coaster brakes because 1) I can't kick the pedals into a good take-off position when I stop, and 2) it's hard to stop quickly without skidding. There are so many downhill sections that end with a stop sign and I'm less than excited about sliding into cross traffic.

That being said, I still enjoyed being out and about on my sweet little bike. We explored some gravel roads along the W&OD and Kate was as sure "footed" on that gravel as a mountain goat in craggy environs. I would have been nervous on Lily and there's no way Circe could have gone through that area. My sturdy Kate surprised the heck out of my by handling the bumps and ruts and loose gravel with ease.

When we got back on the paved trail and I was pedaling with all my might to get uphill, I thought that swapping out the cruiser's pedals for SPDs would help me move the bike more efficiently. And then I realized that I was thinking about a CRUISER. It's practically the antithesis of clipless pedal material!

Overachiever

In less than twenty-four hours and within fifteen miles of riding with combo clipless/platform pedals, I decided that I'd rather have dual-sided clipless pedals. Luckily, based upon my enthusiasm for the new pedals, Scott decided Saturday morning that he wanted a set as well. En route to the shop, I asked Scott if he'd like my pedals on his bike and I'd get the new pedals for mine. Since both sets of pedals use the same style of cleats, switching them around wouldn't be an issue. He thought that was a great idea and the Spokes, Etc. mechanics were only too happy to set us up.

Circe at rest.

Oh my gosh but the dual-sided pedals were even easier to use than the combo pedals! Scott used the platform sides for the ride home and I coached him through clipping in and out Sunday morning and he took off to practice with his new pedals and shoes on the W&OD. He came back all grins.

When he's ready to change his combos out for standard clipless, we'll move those pedals over to my Ariel so I can either clip in or wear regular shoes on commutes and shopping trips.

Kate's a natural against cherry blossoms.

In slower and lower news, I love my cruiser so very much. I've decided to name her Kate because she's so spunky and all the Kates I know are overflowing with personality. I love that everybody smiles at her. Little girls gasp as I cruise by and even the two ten-year-old boys I pedaled past yesterday let out a breathless "Cooooool". Her only drawback is that my cable-and-string-eating cat Oreo wants her tassels so badly.

Ima eat your tassels.

Apparently plastic tassels are made of noms.

Bikes! Bikes everywhere!

After returning home from my clipless adventure yesterday, I accompanied Scott (via truck) to the Vienna Spokes, Etc location so he could test ride a deeply discounted 2011 Specialized Crux Elite. SpokesPerson Mike set him up on a 54cm frame and Scott took it for a spin.

Later that afternoon and closer to home...

While he was out, I spied a row of Trek cruisers and, out of curiosity, sat on one. Wow, it was comfy. But totally unnecessary. I was still mentally arguing with myself when Scott returned and took out a 56cm frame for a test. Okay, I was going to test the cruiser, too.

Wow. I grinned like the Cheshire cat the entire time I was on that bike. Super comfy, super easy to "drive", and more fun than a barrel of drunken monkeys. My mind was made up by the time I got back to the shop. Happily, Scott's mind was made up as well and we both walked out of the store with new bikes; although, his didn't include a basket and streamers.

How cute is she??

 We had to go out for a ride as soon as got home and I actually did a fairly good job of keeping up with Scott despite my being on a bike with no gears. Heh. I did finally lay off the afterburners and cruised while he took off and stretched his and the Crux's legs. I felt comfortable being helmet-less and enjoyed letting my hair flow in the wind. Everybody, and I mean everybody, smiled and waved at me on my silly little super girly bike. I was grinning ear to ear.

Reality struck when we got back home. We now have five bikes in our house. Holy cow, we've got to get on the ball with the basement remodel so there's some place to store them other than the bike garage dining room.

We'll have to remove the table to make room for the cruiser.

Good thing we don't use the dining room for actual dining purposes all that often.