It's Like Riding A Bike

No, really.  I did something this weekend that I haven't done in a long time.  I rode a bike.  Actually, I rode 3 bikes. My dad, the 50-something biker dude somehow got roped into doing a century (100 miles) bike ride for charity and in order to train for this thing, he needed a bike!  So, Saturday morning we went bike shopping.  The sales guy at the local bike shop was extremely helpful and even hunted up a couple bikes for me to try out as I tagged along on Dad's test rides.  Within 3 hours, Dad had a new bike and was on his way home and I was left with a serious want of a new bike.  I realized that if my current bike was a human being, it would be able to vote! If you're interested, here are the two bikes I'm trying to decide between:

2011 Specialized Sirrus

2011 Specialized Vita

What's the difference, besides color?  From what I can tell, one (Sirrus) is marketed to men and the other (Vita) is marketed to women.  I'm planning on stopping back at the bike shop this coming Saturday and asking if there's any difference.  If there isn't, I'm picking whichever one comes in the most likeable color!

After my bike shopping endeavor, I came home, threw on some running gear and headed out the door for a quick and really hot 3 miles.  I would have liked to wait until it cooled down in the evening, but that was not in the cards.  We had a party to get to and there was no way I was going to be willing to run after a couple of drinks!

Distance: 3.0 miles
Time: 29:46
Avg. Pace: 9:54

Sunday was Father's Day and I knew right off that my plans for a long run were getting put on hold.  Per Dad's request, I wrestled my old beast of a bike into the car and headed for his place.  We ended up going on 3 rides that day! 

The first one was a 2.81 mile jaunt around his neighborhood.  My stepmother joined us for that one. I knew she wasn't in good shape, but that was just kind of painful to watch.  The 2.81 miles took 21:55 (Avg. Speed: 7.7mph).  And that was the moving time according to my Garmin.  The total elapsed time was 29:23. I could have run the distance faster!

Ride #2 came after dinner.  My 17 year old half-sister borrowed the stepmother's bike and the three of us set off (my half-brother was riding his motorcycle and kept looping back to check our progress).  If I thought the first ride of the day was slow, Ride #2 was even worse.  Little Brother and I spent a lot of time in parking lots waiting for the sister (who was being shadowed by dad for her own safety).  Total distance: 3.26 miles.  Time: 26:23 (Avg. Speed: 7.4mph).  Total elapsed time (this includes all the time wasted waiting in parking lots, etc.) 43:39!  It's sad when a 17 year old can't ride a bike much faster than average human walking speed. 

Ice cream was consumed and Little Brother was dispatched back to the house to get the car and pick up Little Sister and the bike.  Dad and I had to ride home and knew we'd sort of have to haul ass in order to make it home before dark since neither of us possesses night riding gear.  Ride #3 was infinitely better.  Total Distance: 3.31 miles.  Time: 14:50 (Avg. Speed: 13.4 mph). Total Elapsed Time: 15:58 (stupid stoplights).

Obviously, Ride #3 was actually worth the effort.  I definitely haven't forgotten how to ride and I'm looking forward to getting a new bike and improving my performance!

Tonight was Yoga Night.  Pretty standard, but definitely work!  Lots of strength moves involved.  It felt good.  Real good.

And on that high note, I'm headed to bed.  I've got a full day tomorrow and I need some sleep!