I Huffed and Puffed and About Keeled Over

After yesterday's debacle with about 3 hours of our life gone with taking the bus then train to get to our friend's house then back, we decided we'd stay in today. Well, at least nothing that would require us to get on the bus then train since the train departing from our place here in Williamstown is still unavailable. It's a dreary day, no real sunshine and a bit of a cool breeze, Anthony was pacing like a caged lion so we went for a bike ride with the intention of him showing me how to ride all the way to Spotswood where the kids are in quarantine. Since Anthony has been riding to work everyday, the two days a week that we visit the kids, he rides home afterward and I take the train. We found out that by the time he's home, I'm only just getting on the train in Spotswood then about a 15 minute train ride before I'm walking distance from the house. Anthony kept telling me that the bike ride isn't so bad and that it's all on bike trails except for just a hope over Nelson Place, kind of a busy shopping area.

Being that it was Sunday I figured it would mean less people on the road and we could take our time. So we get all decked out for a ride. Okay, so I get decked out since I'm a big wuss on the bike being that I'm not too tolerant of the cold and riding gets the wind blowing pretty good. I have no bike clothing so I borrow Anthony's long sleeve shirt and a cycling wind breaker. Obviously they're huge on me, practically goes down to my knees and extends well over my fingertips. But I was determined to stay warm and it helped a little that I strapped on a backpack (a first time for me while riding) so it kept the clothing from billowing like a sail.

We set out from the house and cross over Nelson Street only to find A LOT of people there for the Commonwealth Reserve Craft Market where there's a ton of booths of people selling their crafts and food stands. So it's teeming with people, kids, and dogs. I have to admit there was a moment of panic when I first saw the crowd. Keep in mind this was only my 4th time out on the bike and I'm still pretty wobbly and not too good around tight spaces so with people all over the place, there was a lot of tight spaces. Fortunately Anthony stops to ask if I wanted to walk around to see what they're selling since he thinks it won't be long before they start packing it up already. So we walk around, on foot, with our bikes in tow. After visiting a few booths and striking up a conversation with a Canadian that has a growing successful all natural homemade dog biscuits business, called Mucky Pup, we got back on our bikes to head towards Spotswood.

Now, I'm still at the point where I'm pretty tense when I ride and I hadn't thought that being on a weekend there would be more people out and about so even though we were on the run/bike path, there was so many people walking around and some with their dogs, that I was extremely tense the entire ride. In the last little stretch of riding before we got to the quarantine facility, we crossed a fairly busy road and up through the parking lot of the Scienceworks Museum, an interactive museum of science and technology (which we plan to go visit soon because they have a Star Wars exhibit), and I soon realize it''s at a bit of an incline. Once I get to the quarantine facility, I'm huffing and puffing and Anthony looks at me like I'm a little nutz then looks down at my chain ring and to his surprise says I was riding on my big gear. Then points out it would have been easier if I shifted down so I wouldn't have had to pedal so hard. I tried to give him a glare but I was too busy trying to relearn how to breathe so I just grunted something between an acknowledgement and a "now you tell me" sound. Like I understand anything about bicycles beyond rotating your legs and try to stay up!

To make matters worse, the ride there and back was about 6 miles (I think I've ridden 1 mile at most before then) and coming back we rode right into a head wind. I was too busy dodging little kids and dogs running across the bike path and trying not to let my snot bubbles get away from me to enjoy the fact that we were riding alongside the water. By the time we got home I could feel a headache coming and I was hurting in places that shouldn't have to know what pain feels like. I'm still trying to catch my breathe and taking a really long time to peel off all my cycle gear then clothing as well as trying to remember how to walk again while Anthony strolls right on in and pops open a bottle of beer having not even broken a bead of sweat.

Before I fell upon the bed to pass out, I told Anthony that he was trying to kill me. Anthony looks at me and cheerfully says, we'll have you racing in no time! I was too tired to lunge at him.

- julie