Things I Have Learned About Cycling

This morning I went for my first ride since May. As the old saying goes, "it's as easy as riding a bike." And, well, riding a bike is easy. It's just not easy to be good at it.

Many of you remember the Bush-Straddling Incident of 2007, and there are a few who might recall the Stop-Sign-and-Car-Denting Debacle of 1980-ish. As much as I have ridden my bike over the years, I'm just not a great cyclist. My center of gravity isn't, well...centered. I lean forward too much, I slow down excessively for turns, and I have as much grace as a tutu-wearing hippo dancing on a circus ball. Rather than just wearing a helmet, I'm pretty sure I should wear full body armor.

2007 MS Ride, Joe taking a picture of me during a most flattering moment. Good thing I'm way in the distance.

I'm not a dancer, I don't roller blade or ski (those were both extremely awkward and painful experiments), but I do enjoy cycling. I'm just extremely awkward at it.

As I was riding down the Greenbelt this morning, surrounded by all the serious cycling commuters, with their reflective vests and backpacks of work clothes, it occurred to me that - even though I'm not a strong cyclist - I can still get from Point A to Point B without killing myself or harming others. At least most of the time.