You know what that means right? If I got to eat my favorite candy, I got to do my favorite thing! Yes, I got to ride. The Trek Store loaned me a Gary Fisher X-Caliber and I took it out for my first ride today. Before I left the house, I rode around on the grass just to make sure I wasn't wasting my time. I felt alright.
So I drove to Sherman Branch, a nice swoopy, curvy, 11 or so mile course about a half hour from my house. It's been so long since I've ridden that I had to go through my checklist a few times: bike, gloves, shoes, helmet, gum. Okay, go.
At first I was tentative. That first root was so big, the first rock looked enormous, and that first drop, OMG, this is gonna hurt. You know what? I was fine, no pain at all. My shoulder is definitely weak. I am out of shape, and I am not aggressive on my bike. But I can ride.
I took it pretty easy in the beginning, only pushing it on the hills. And oh how I've missed the hills. I love climbing! I just wish I never have to ride down. About 3/4 of the way through the trail I crossed a small stream and then goofed up on a little rock garden. Instinctively I turned my bike around to go back and try it again. But then I thought this was silly. It's my first ride, let it go and move on. I couldn't do that. So I rode back and tried it again. I made it through, felt great, and sprinted the rest of the lap. It felt so good.
BTW, the X-Cal was awesome, it cornered so well. I was really impressed. I'm so used to high end $8k carbon racing bikes and this is an aluminum 29er that retails for about $1700. It was great and I loved it.
Time to order my team bike...
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