Bicycling - the Unannounced Adventure in Exercise

I am working with the Varsity Scouts now and a couple of weeks ago it was announced that we (the boys and leaders) would be going on a 20 mile ride in South Mountain park to get in shape for an up-coming activity, a ride from the Flagstaff area to the Grand Canyon. I don't (didn't) own a bike but one of the boys had offered to let me borrow his brother's bike. Teenagers tend to loan out other people's stuff, often without their knowledge or permission. Therefore, I was hesitant and was suggesting that perhaps I shouldn't go since I was not going on the activity but Tyler, one of the other leaders, was saying, "Come on. It will be fun." He's 28 and in good shape, not that round isn't a good shape but 54 is not a good age for such a shape. This guy should be in sales because he finally talked me into it.

The following Wednesday everyone showed up with their bikes to be checked out. The "brother's bike" did not arrive but the boy showed up with his bike and it was reasonably nice. I began to have some hope that this would not be the end of life as I know it. Then his father, who is also participating in the activity, showed up with another brother's bike.

This bike had wheels out of alignment and a wobbly crank with bad bearings and all of the signs of a well used, teenager-owned bike. Now I was really concerned. That evening I mentioned to my wife that I was going to be dead meat. She must have had the same vision that I had - that I would be humiliated in front of all these kids. She stated in a very matter-of-fact manner, "We have to get you a bike." These are words that I thought I would never hear. This is the lady who makes me wear a T-shirt to Home Depot that reads, "Needs Supervision" so I won't spend too much. Okay, she saw half of her income going away because I would be lying in the trail having a heart attack. Be it as it may, the result was the same.

I had been shopping around for a bicycle for excercise already. I spoke to my neighbor, who rides much more extensively than I do and had gotten some advice from him. "Don't get a WalMart bike," was about the first thing out of his moth when I asked his advice. He suggested a place to make the purchase and "free maintenance for life" stuck in my brain.

I also questioned a couple who are about my age that also ride quite a bit but more for fun and exercise than for competition. They consider a nice before work ride something along the line of 25 miles. They also said something similar to the WalMart advice, suggested a couple of brand names, gave me some price ranges, told me where they had bought their bikes, etc.

The end result was that I went to Bikes Direct on Power and SR60. The gentleman there spent about 45 minutes with me and my wife showing us differnet bikes, finding out the type of riding that I was planning on doing and generally explaining the difference between the various quality levels on the same brand; in essence, why one bike was better than another and which one would probably fit me and my riding style the best.

The result is that a few days later I returned to Bikes Direct and bought a bike (Giant) and, with some subsequent trips, also purchased some needed equipment. I managed to survive the bike trip (it was only 10 miles) and have ridden several other trips with the boys and leaders for practice for the upcoming activity. I am beginning to enjoy having a bike to hop on to run over to my parents' house or somewhere close. I am beginning to also ride a few days just for fun and exercise. I believe that I may have found a way to curb my bordom with exercise (the walking kind) and found a way to have some fun while in the pusuit of where my belt buckle went.