Today was a great day. I went out for a bike ride with a bunch of TriGirls and it was fantastic. We went out as a beginner ride -- many of the women who went hadn't been riding for several months. The woman who organized it prepared for the worst by bringing along a TriGirl that is training for an Ironman race and who possesses all kinds of wonderful (and necessary) knowledge and skills -- changing tires, putting bike chains back on, the traffic laws, bicycle safety -- and a terrific person to boot! I thought that this kind of ride would be good for me since I don't often get to ride without the trailer hitched behind. We met at a local mall this morning, after the Race for the Cure, and headed out. We rode 19 miles. It was exhilarating!! I had such a great time!

The first section of the ride was scary since we were riding beside 3 lanes of traffic. Finally, we got far enough along and then turned onto a residential street so it wasn't so stressful (for me -- I don't think anyone else was really bothered by the traffic). One thing I do need to learn is how to stop the bike without unclipping both feet. I am supposed to unclip one foot and stop, and leave the other foot clipped onto the pedal so that I am ready to start when the light turns green. I find this difficult because of my balance -- I am just waiting to fall over on the side that my foot is clipped in. I didn't make it once -- every time I stopped, I unclipped both feet. We finally turned around and headed back and the return trip was mostly downhill. This was GREAT! I got up to 26 miles per hour! I was tense about falling, but the speed was amazing! Then, back onto the busy road and back to the mall. I really need to do this again.

I did wear my geeky bike jersey, and my new socks and bike shoes. I was coordinated too -- even my Camelbak (a drink container that is in a backpack thing) was black, grey, and red. Ron said I looked very professional. Next time, I will take a picture and share it with you all. The other thing that I learned today was that I really need to consider buying a road bike. All of the other girls left me in the dust -- WAY in the dust. A hybrid bike is great, but when everyone you are riding with is riding a road bike, it just doesn't work.