First Clip in Pedal Bike Ride

The next big step for me to take in cycling was to put clip in pedals on my bike. What are clip in pedals you may ask? I'm sure you know what a traditional bike pedal looks like. A clip in pedal is designed to "clip in" to a cleat on the bottom of cycling shoes. Below you can see my cute little shoes and a also a photo of the circle shaped clip in pedal.


I started out just riding my bike on my trainer in my basement to practice the motion of clipping in and out of the pedal with my shoes. It does take sometime to get used to the feeling. The benefits of having the clip in pedals is that they give you more strength while riding your bike. Since your shoe is now attached to the pedal you get more power while you are pedaling. Not only do you push on the pedal, you are also it pulling up. However, Cody didn't inform me how much it was going to hurt my legs the first ride. I felt pain in muscles I didn't know I had! It really becomes a full leg workout.


I did fall/crash twice. With clip in pedals you basically become part of the bike, so it's easy to make mistakes as a beginner. You are attached and need to know what you are doing to get off. The first time I fell was because I didn't push myself up high enough to get on my seat when starting. The padding on my shorts caught the seat just enough to turn it into a failed attempt. I tried to get off and save myself, but with my right foot still clipped in, down I went. My second fall didn't hurt so bad. I was coming to a stop and I had clipped out of my left pedal. This is the foot I always put on the ground when I get off the bike. Somehow I accidentally clipped it back in. Since I didn't know I was clipped in, I just went to get off the bike "thinking" my foot was free. I think my exact words were, "Shit, I'm still clipped in." Crash. hahaha

Caution: Hot Dogs Ahead


We have been riding on actual roads more. I feel fairly comfortable doing it because the people in the area are used to seeing cyclists. I do tend to stay as far over as possible or use the shoulder if there is one. I don't believe in hogging the road because I'm on a bike. I do hope that people don't get too close either. When I lived in Ohio you rarely saw cyclists. When I did see them I'd get so mad and cuss about it. I thought that roads were only for cars. Boy, how my views have changed. It's also very hard for a cyclist to stop and go. It's so nice when people wave you on or have patience. Especially for a beginner like me. :)


I love snapping photos while we are riding. The above photo is a common site here in town. Lots of people have there own junkyard or car lot going on. Cars and campers lined up rusting away. I joke with Cody that I think there are more campers in our city then people. It's a very interesting place to live and I'm sure someday when we move away we will miss it. You really get to see things differently when you are out on a bike. This ride was one of the most physically hard rides I've done, since I was working all kinds of new muscles in my legs. I can't wait to just keep getting stronger!

Watching Our First Mountain Bike Race

A few weekends back we got the chance to watch our friend Dan compete in a mountain bike race. In case you are wondering this is not the same Dan that is doing the vegan project on my blog. (I have two friends named Dan!) We were super excited to go support him since he is the reason we started cycling in the first place. Dan has been a huge inspiration for me. He has battled some serious health problems over the last few years and has still been able to stay in great shape. He decided he wasn't going to let his health issues hold him back from his love of biking. Last year he climbed the summit at the Rocky Mountain National Park. (A 9,000 feet climb to the top.) I hope to follow in his footsteps someday.



The race was held at Curt Gowdy State Park here in Wyoming. It was my first visit and I was impressed with how beautiful the park is. I was more fascinated with the amount of bikes I was surrounded by. I may not be a mountain biker but it was still really cool to be around other people who love to ride a bike the way I do. Even though mountain bikers like to tease road bikers about riding on the road verses the dirt and mountains. I'm not ready for riding in the rocks. It's scares the hell out of me honestly. I can get hurt on my road bike but I feel the chances are increased on a mountain bike.


It was nice being able to bring our dogs with us...
There were three bike races held that day. Dan's race was the last one, the intermediate course. It was a total of 15 miles through narrow dirt trails, rocks, steep hills and mountains. The intermediate race was also opened to women. They just started ten minutes ahead of the men and were timed separately. The first hill that all the racers had to climb up was so steep and what seemed to be never ending. Here is a photo Cody took of some of the girls climbing...


We got this great video of Dan starting the race and climbing the hill. There is no way in hell I could climb that thing!!!

Dan waving as he goes by...

After Dan went by us, we hiked out in the woods to find a cool place to catch some photos. Since Dan had practiced the trail many times he told about a great place to sit and wait for him to ride by during his second lap. I had fun climbing some rocks and snapping some photos.




Yes, that is a cowbell sitting on a rock. Notice it has "rule #5" written on it. When Dan first introduced us to cycling he also informed us of the rules of cycling. The rules are mostly just supposed to be humorous. A lot of cyclists follow them by the book though. I tend to be the rebellious type of person and plan to wear my heart shaped sunglasses while cycling instead of buying overpriced cycling glasses. Which is already breaking rule #1 which is, follow all the rules. By the way, rule #5 is Harden The F*ck Up. I remember this every time I climb a hill on my bike. For a complete list of the rules go HERE.


We waited for about an hour for Dan to reach the spot where we hoped to get some photos of him riding. We really had to pay attention because riders came by quickly. When Dan came around the corner he had a guy in front him...




We felt bad for the guy in front of Dan because we scared him. He wasn't expecting there to be people cheering and taking photos. We really knocked him off his game. Dan knew we were going to be sitting there. It was funny though, the guy laughed about it. Dan didn't miss a beat and soon after passed the guy that was riding in front of him.


Then we headed back to the finish line to wait for Dan to complete the race. It got crazy windy and cold.
Poor Muffins.Video of Dan finishing the race. (Listen to the wind!)



It was a very inspiring day. Even though all these people were way better on a bike then me, I just use it as motivation to get better myself. Everyone starts somewhere. I got sick a few days after watching this race so I haven't been able to ride my bike at all. The withdraw is killing me. It may sound silly, but it's addicting. I never thought I would be addicted to something that is considered exercise. I look forward to watching other races in the future. I hoped you enjoyed my photos.

Biking in Colorado // 30 Miles

Over the weekend Cody and I drove down to our favorite bike trail in Colorado. It was so beautiful outside with a temperature of 84 degrees. Our goal was to ride at least 30 miles. We are really trying to get stronger and faster because we hope to be able to do a 100 mile ride this year. I am skeptical of this happening but I haven't lost all hope yet. This was our first ride using a computer that attached to Cody's bike.


The computer is pretty awesome. It lets you know how long you have been riding for, your mileage and your average speed. When we got started we were flying at around 19 miles per hour. This was a huge ego booster for me because I honestly didn't think my tiny little legs were capable of that. The trail is curvy but does not have tons of hills. Which makes it much easier then other trails I have done. I am really looking to just build my speed right now. I love the trail in Colorado because it's very scenic. Even the weeds growing are pretty...


As you are riding you can see the Rocky Mountains off in the distant. They are covered in snow in right now.
The photo doesn't do it justice. It's so beautiful.


I'm a daredevil taking photos while peddling. Most of the images were taken while in motion.


The trail is also full of wildlife...



Well, the horses aren't wild but they are pretty.

This is me at the end of the ride. Oh, I do wear 70 SPF sunblock.
I love my pale skin and wouldn't have it any other way. ;)
It used to embarrass me growing up but now I have embraced it.

Did we complete our 30 mile ride? Yes we did. Barely though. It took us a little over 2 hours to complete it with very few stops. On the way back the wind was horrible. The wind actually makes you feel like you aren't moving and you have to work so much harder. It slowed our average speed down to around 13 miles per hour instead of 19. I was so tired I didn't think I could make it, but when your car is parked at the "finish line" you keep going. Overall it was a great ride. I was very proud of myself. It's really amazing what the human body is capable of. We had so many people passing us making us seem slow. My goal is to be one of those people someday.

Cycling is such a great sport. You get to be outside, have fun and exercise all at the same time.
See all my posts related to biking HERE.

32 Things Before 32 List // #24 Biking in Ohio

We just got back from our vacation in Ohio visiting with our family and friends. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great. Spring hadn't really arrived yet. Things weren't green yet, temperatures were cool and our biking was very limited. These photos are actually from Easter Sunday. We were able to get up early and ride a trail that is near my parents house. We had hoped to do close to 60 miles but only had the motivation to do one loop of 8 miles. It was too cold! I am glad we still went though and made the best of it. It was a great way to start off the day.


I love that people also ride their horses on this trail.
The trail had a lot of curves and some hills. It was good practice for me on my new bike. I am starting to get the hang of it now. Can't wait to really start riding a lot. I used my old camera to take photos while I was riding. Getting my I-Phone out is way too dangerous. My other camera is very big. I used my little Canon PowerShot which has a little strap that I can wrap around my wrist. It worked out nicely. If I drop it while peddling I won't be that upset if the camera breaks and I can get some cool shots while riding.

Doing a bike ride in Ohio was on my 32 Things List. I could tell that the air wasn't as thin and I did seem to keep my breathing under control better. Now that I am back from Ohio, I will get back into the swing of blogging again. I haven't been able to read blogs or get to my comments as fast. I missed you guys!!!

See my full 32 Things Before 32 List HERE.