Monday, April 1, 2013

I Want To Ride My Sweet Bicycle!

Even as a young child I am always fascinated with riding a bicycle. If my memory serves me right I started to learn how to bike on two wheels when I was seven. Ofcourse the process is not that easy, I have to take a lot of falls and get lots of scratches and bruises before I finally got the hang of it.

After my first marathon, I told myself I want to venture on Triathlons next. I was sad that I did not see hubby on the finishline at Nuvali but when we got home, to my surprise, the reason he was not there is because he was busy preparing to give me one of the best gifts I could ever imagine, a Roadie!!!


Ethan inherited our passion and enthusiasm to ride bicycles. He was more fascinated and excited seeing the roadie than I do, and even before I had the chance to name it, he is already calling it "Steve" so Steve it is!

Steve is a Scott Speedster Contessa 45 with upgraded Shimano 105 Groupset and cleats. His handle bars are covered with carbon tapes and added 1 bottle holder on his body. He's such a sight to see! I seldom see white bikes on races and he is indeed a stand out, though I know I have to keep it clean all the time it's all worth it!

I took Steve for a short ride outside and to my surprise he is incredibly fast. That was my first time on a Roadie. I am used to riding Mountain Bikes and I thought it will be just the same but it's not. I almost ram the bike on our neighbors gate but I'm glad I was able to unmount and hold the brakes before it did. That was an almost heart attack moment. After that, Steve became a decoration in my room for almost two weeks because I was scared to take him outside again.

One morning, I decided to bring Steve on a spin at BGC, with hubby's supervision, I was able to bike around the big loop and did 20K. It was a good and fun start again, and I am regaining the loss confidence though there are some instances that I almost fell off the bike.





After that, we already had team rides at Nuvali which trained me to use the gears properly. I'm so fortunate and happy that I have very supportive teammates that can keep up with my very slow pace. They are very patient in watching out for me as we eat the hills at Nuvali which is so hard for me.

One thing I discovered is that unlike running, cycling on the uphill is tougher. You cannot stop in the middle of the climb. You need to move forward no matter how hard or else you'll end up going down the road. But ofcourse, the high you'll feel when it's time to go down. The wind passing on my face, the sound of the breeze, it's pure bliss!

(Photo by Jocas Castillo)

(Photo by Johanah Co)

After a month of having Steve it feels like I had him for the longest time. I am happy that I was able to have him now though I wish it was sooner. I have always wanted to have a bike but the skyrocket prices prevent me to pursue buying one. Glad Scott has been so kind to diabetic athletes like me that they gave us a chance to own one of their masterpieces. I would like to thank Ms. Cecille Ty of Unison Bike Shop for the generosity extended to Team Triabetics!

I am looking forward to gaining strength on riding the bike so I won't always be the one left behind on bike rides with my teammates. I also am looking forward to riding on my own to practice and regain road confidence but ofcourse, to finally fulfill my goal to join a triathlon individually.

Good Vibes everyone and Sweet Running! ^_^

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Using a compact crank with a 50/34 combination would help make it easier uphills. Ride safe.

Anonymous said...

Shimano is coming out with a new road groupset, Claris. Available in 46/34 crank combination which should make one's cycling more enjoyable with lower gearing.

Scott K. Johnson said...

So awesome! And what a great name, too! :-)

Unknown said...

I'll try and learn more about bikes. Thanks for your inputs! ^_^