Just a woman and her bike

A few months ago when I first arrived in Austin and found the amazing cycling culture here I thought it would be a snap to get back on my bike.  After all, the last time I had decided to do this I rode in a 40 mile charity ride without any training or ramp up.  The fact that this was 15 years and two more, um, C-sections ago kinda skipped my mind!

But, hey, I’m nothing if not adventurous.  So I started a Meetup cycling group for my neighborhood so I could find some people to ride with.  And I joined a cycling email group.  Meet Lance Armstrong and a bunch of other cyclists for a ride?  No biggie.  Well you can read about that here.

One of the many things that this “jump in with both feet” attitude taught me about cycling is that the right equipment is key.  As is the ability to train hard and recover sufficiently so as not to damage muscle.  So when I was diagnosed with some endocrine issues and anemia around that time I had to hang up the bike.  And I was bummed.  Thank goodness my newly adopted cycling club, Austin Cycle Camp, gave me other ways to plug into my passion while I waited.

Well, I’m back, and it feels great.  Thanks to the wise counsel of nutritionist Beth Shirley at People’s Pharmacy and their naturally compounded hormones and supplements, I’m feeling like a human being again.  Better, I’m full of the energy and vitality that I’ve always addressed my life with.  During the illness I just faced this was the most precious thing lost.

All cleared for cycling again I had the dilemma of acquiring right equipment ahead of me.  Since I’ve chosen to ride the open roads and I fell under the specialty bike shop spell that a “hybrid was the way to go” when last shopping for a bike, I wasn’t in great shape equipment-wise to ride on long all day rides.  (It’s called the Hill Country for a reason!)

Also knowing that living with spinal cord injury and its lasting effects on my body made this a complex task, I’ve taken some time to investigate road bikes.  And I’m still learning.  I get “fitted” this week.  Fitting is really important for everyone and crucial for someone like me.  The right bike and proper ergonomic adjustment can make the difference between an enjoyable ride and pain.

Then there’s the little matter that my team is riding 45 – 75 miles an outing.  And I’m not.  Yet.

So what’s a woman with a newly sparked cycling passion to do while she’s training and getting outfitted to ride with the big boys?  Like anything in life, for me, it’s about starting where you are.

A marathon runner I once knew used to repeat to me over and over, “Crawl, walk, run.”  And this is so true.  I have to start my blooming right where I’m planted.

What I’ve discovered is that right where I’m planted isn’t so bad.

Even the policemen in Austin get into the act of cycling. Officer Robinson and I rode along for a bit and chatted near the First Street bridge a few days ago. (iPhones are the handiest things!)

The fact that Austin is called Cycle City is no accident.  There’s truly something for everyone.  Roadies, mountain bikers, BMXers, you name it, there’s something for you in Austin.  What I stumbled upon is perfection manifested in the form of the Lady Bird Lake fitness trail downtown.  Not only is it 15 minutes from my house, it’s the most amazing slice of real Austin that you can imagine.  Central Park has nothing on Lady Bird Lake.  Just ask the hundreds of joggers, walkers, strollers, and bikers that use it each day like I do.

So for the past week or so I’ve hit the trail at LBL almost every day.  And what makes it so much fun?  Aside from the fact that it’s the perfect terrain for my hybird tires, for me it’s the perfect beautiful setting for the kind of “cycling as church” that I need right now.  After a couple of spins around a partial loop I finally found the on-road connection to the farther side of the lake.  So now I get a combination of trail riding and hill assault on urban roads each day.

The ten mile loop I’ve found is the perfect place to settle in and work on upping my speed and heart rate.  (Just call me Speed Demon!)  Now that I really know the terrain I find myself letting loose and focusing on perfecting each ride.  And most of the time I feel as if I’m in a race that no one else knows about.  It’s delicious.

Oh, remember those urban hill assaults I mentioned?  Today the Riverside hill that had been kicking my butt went down.  I Did.  Not. Stop.  Reaching the top victorious but noodle-legged, I was happy.

And what’s not to love about the dodging and turning to dash through the walkers, families with strollers, and joggers?  Good for building agility on the bike.

Yes, granted there are more than a few people that don’t have a clue what “on your left!” means when I come upon them from behind and have to pass.  And the joggers with their iPods scare me.  They don’t hear anything around them and are usually oblivious to anyone else on the trail.

But those few fellow trail lovers per day that acknowledge me with a “thank you” when I alert them the way any proper cyclist would is enough to make my day.

And today….it was just another beautiful bike riding day in Cycle City.

Tagged as: Austin Cycle Camp, bike fitting, cycling, hybrid bikes, incomplete spinal cord injury, Lady Bird Lake, Lance Armstrong, People's Pharmacy