It was getting dark out when I took the picture, so you can't see that it is a beautiful purple. I'll post a better picture in the sun.
I was coming back from a meeting in Boston when I got the email that it had arrived. My friend Roger was driving because my assistant Mariah had a very busy week that was exacerbated by the fact that Monday was a holiday--Patriot's Day for you poor souls who don't live in Massachusetts, and don't get the extra holidays we get because of the Revolutionary War. And it's not a day to celebrate our football team, if that's what you were wondering. It's a day to celebrate the Boston Marathon and a Red Sox game that starts before noon.
Anyway, in addition to Roger being my backup driver, he's been a friend for over 25 years. We met at the racquetball courts at the Y when we were in our 30s and discovered that we were very well matched. We played multiple times a week until a fateful day when my knee went out when I was serving. I waited a couple of weeks till the pain went away and tried again. Pain again on the first serve. I waited 6 months and tried again. Pain on the first serve. End of racquetball.
I told Roger about my new bike and over the course of the conversation, he said that he had tried a recumbent bike, and had trouble with it. He said that he felt like he was pulling himself forward with the pedals--it didn't feel like a natural movement. That made me a bit apprehensive, but not overly so, because I am committed to loving this new bike.
Liz teaches stained glass Wednesday evenings, so she couldn't come with me to get her bike. You have to be fitted for it, so I couldn't pick hers up. The second I got back, I tried it on our road. I found out quickly what's going to get tired first on the trike--my legs started burning within the first mile. I was surprise at how much work it took to move it. I couldn't get any speed up at all and was breathing hard. I thought that must have been what Roger was talking about. It was starting to get dark, so I turned back.
When I was almost back home, I started wondering why the feel of the handlebars on the right side was different than the left. I looked down, and remembered that the guy in the bike shop had put some velcro on the brake on the right side so the trike wouldn't roll around in Liz's car. I had been biking with the brake on. No wonder it was so hard to get any speed up!
I took the Velcro off and did the same route again. I flew! No burning in the legs, no hard breathing. It was fun! Whew. If it's not raining tomorrow I'm going to try to bike to work and back.
No more braking bad.
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