Progress report. New goal reached and living life.

Jul 04, 2010

I never thought when I had a goal of getting back on my old bike and riding that it ever really happen. But I am really surprised to the extent at which it is happening.  This past winter, my wife bought me a used bicycle that was similar to my original 1973 Schwinn continental road bike that was in pieces in my basement. I hopped on the 1980 bike my wife bought, and had a great time riding.  But I didn't feel comfortable on the bike.. it just seemed smaller than my old bike.. I kept falling off the bike and didn't seem to have as much control as I did on my old bike.  So I got out a tape measure and sure enough.. The frame of my old bike was two inches larger than the one my wife bought.  So during a recent weekend, I got out the tools and began swapping parts onto the older 1973 yellow Schwinn frame.  After some tweaking, I hopped on my new (old) bike.  It was just like the old days! Easier to ride and I could go faster because I could more fully extend my legs.

So now I had actually reached my goal of riding my old bike.  It felt great.

My wife and I have been riding the same local trail for weeks now. Today, i tried a new trail and it was very nice.

There was all sorts of scenery and wildlife.  Like this wetland near the trail head in Leetonia, Ohio.


About halfway down the ten mile trail, there is a deep gorge at the edge of the trail. It is fenced off to keep people safe.



The camera phone really doesn't capture the breathtaking beauty of this woodland.
 
At the trails end, there is a renovated train depot to welcome cyclists.



There is a nice breezeway with picnic tables, a vending machine with water and sports drinks. And there are nice clean restrooms that are open even on Sundays.



There is also an air pump. It costs 25 cents for a minute of air.. so have quarters handy and be ready to pump quickly. Remove the valve caps from the stems before putting your quarter in.

There is also a bike shop at the end of the trail for those unforeseen emergencies.  Lisbon on the Fourth of July is as American as apple pie.  The people there seem to embrace the cycling visitors.

The sun was shining and it was 87 degrees. Back when I weighed 500 pounds, I would have practically died in that heat. But the day was perfect. I just made sure to stay hydrated.

My GPS says I rode 20 miles and burned 1333 calories.  And I had a great time.

Like I said earlier... I am surprised to the extent at which I have embraced bicycling.  It's exercise I actually enjoy.

 

7 Comments

×