In my last update—I had a goal of not putting my feet down/finishing the Portola loop time trial as well as finishing somewhere above the remedial group. I'm happy to report that not only did I finish it, I have completed the loop several times since the original outing. As far as the remedial group—I finished one group ahead of the last pack. I went back the next day and shaved 6 minutes off my original time. Knowing I could complete the loop gave me the courage to push a little harder up the hills. 

I learned some new things in the past two weeks: new lingo, new technical riding skills and what my bike looks like upside down and on top of me.

No one calls a bike seat a seat—it is a saddle. Leg warmers are not only fashionable they are expensive (do not think Flash Dance—it is all high-tech wicking materials these days—no I am not wearing them—they are reserved for people who do not have body fat). My bike has a wireless computer that not only tells me how fast and how far I have gone—but reads my heart rate for zone training. Cadence is my new “hip” word. In biking, it means the rate at which you turn your cranks (look at me — I am on a roll with the lingo)—but I like the word so much, I now use it as much as possible.

This week I learned how to ride in a pace line—otherwise known as tailgating in layman’s terms. We are suppose to be as close as possible to the bike in front of us for "drafting" purposes. Drafting essentially means cutting the air. Once people learned what drafting meant to them (less work thus less fatigue) people were fighting to be on my pace line.

I now have one fall under my belt. I was riding up a hill and decided to take a drink of water and I could not get the water bottle back in the cage (more terminology – never call it a water bottle holder). As I struggled to find it—my momentum slowed further as I was trying to make it up the hill. I successfully unclipped from my clipless pedal at the last moment and stopped to get the water bottle back in the cage (no small accomplishment on my second ride with clipless pedals). When I started to go back up the hill—I could not get my left foot to click in and could not get my bike steadied — as I was heading up hill with no momentum. I ended up on my back with my bike on top of me. The bike is virtually weightless and it was stuck to my right shoe like a piece of toilet paper—flailing around as I rolled on my back. Not a scratch on the bike.

For those of you who ride—I know I am sharing stories that you all have experienced—and that gives me a little hope. I heeded the warning about practicing clipping out and stepping away from the bike when coming to a stop. I learned a quick lesson about not drinking on an incline and not trying to clip in while trying to go up hill. As I was falling—I actually thought to myself—protect your helmet—I do not want to have to replace it for a fall this lame. (Helmets are only good for one crash.)

I appreciate the emails of support. Take care and the next time you see a cyclist on the road—give him/her a little more room—it is definitely appreciated.