baby . . pedals

Almost two years ago, in August '08, this was sitting in my living room.

I'd gotten the bright idea to get a mountain bike for my birthday, figured out the size of the frame I would need, and I found this one dirt cheap on Craig's List for $100. You can probably tell why... This poor baby had been rode hard and put away wet. But it's a Trek 950 single track, which of course meant nothing to me until I started looking around for reviews, at which point I thought it would be worth fixing him up.

But then winter blew in and it got put off... and put off. The bike went into the corner of the garage and waited, patiently.

So we finally loaded up in Bob's Jeep so it could get some loving from people who know how to love on ignored and abused bikes at the outdoor Rec Center at Mines. He came home ready to ride last night. So, this morning, away we went.


Now, full confession, I do not know the first thing about what I'm doing. I'm learning as I go and hoping it doesn't kill me in the process.

First issue: these cage pedals have got to go. To be loose enough to easily get in and out, they might as well not be there. I'm not planning on tackling terrain that would require clipping,at least not any time soon, so I think I'm just going platform as soon as I can. (Note the cage upside down below.)

But the ride is really smooth and stable. I kept reading the reviews about this frame being practically bomb-proof and now I understand why.

So for the first time out on any kind of bike in years, this was a success. I didn't ride too long since I'm thinking breaking through the saddle soreness make take a little time and I'd really like to be able to walk normally between now and then. The legs were a little shaky when I was done and I was breathing pretty hard, so it's enough of a workout without having to sacrifice the walk with the dogs here in a few minutes. Baby steps, er, pedals, are just fine by me.