Biking is taking over my life. I go spinning 3x a week. All the teachers know me because I hardly miss a class, they ask about me when I’m not there, and I’ve become friends with all the regulars. I guess I’m considered hard-core.

I’m not though. I’m still pretty weak. At one point two weeks ago, I felt really, really strong. I was able to do all the workouts without cheating on the resistance, without giving myself recovery time, etc. I was doing everything the instructor said. But last Saturday, that ended. I had to go easy. 10 minutes into the workout, and I had lactic acid flooding my muscles. But I’m still at it. I went last night and did all right. I think I could’ve pushed harder, but the fact that my legs are sore today says that maybe I did give a good effort. Although having wine following a hard workout was probably not the smartest thing.

Anyway, so I finally went bike shopping last Sunday, and JH came along with me - fortunately. It made it fun, and the store people could tell he was there for a reason. So, they talked to him more than they talked to me, and discussed technical stuff with him. Which was just as well, because he’s there to help me decide and pick out a good bike.

The highlight of it all was getting to try a bike out on the road. I tried a Jamis and a Specialized on the trainer, but the Jamis didn’t fit me. The Specialized Dolce did. And I got to try it outside. They even lent JH a bike so that he could go with me - again a good thing, because I don’t have any experience with road bikes. It was very wobbly (I’ve been told that ‘responsive’ is a better term). But it went fast. And it was quite comfortable, despite the more aggressive position compared to a mountain bike. As a bonus, it was remarkably, about 40 degrees outside. It was glorious. I had a big smile on my face when we got back to the shop and I almost bought the bike right away. But I held off. I’m trying a Trek on Friday, and then I’ll decide.

At one of the stores, the lady asked whereabouts I would be biking. And JH chimed in saying “We’ll probably be biking in Fitzwilliam, Troy, etc.” We. Yikes. He’s a really good biker. I’m already nervous about keeping up with him and holding him back. Maybe he’ll just show me the routes so I’ll know where to go. Either way, that would be really nice. I need to be riding with someone in the beginning to get comfortable on the roads.

I can’t wait to get my bike!