Cycling Coast to Coast

Last week I was really hosed with work, and this past weekend was CPW. I had hoped to go for a ride yesterday, but I was just too tired. When I got home from class today, there was an email from Sophie, one of the trip leaders, urging us to “JUST DO IT” and “JUMP ON YOUR BIKE RIGHT NOW”. Even without Sophie’s prompting, I had been itching to go for a ride today, so I did.

I rode from MIT to Belmont Wheelworks, which is supposed to be one of the best bike shops in the Boston area. 12.95 miles, but I got a bit lost on the way. On the way there, there was one medium-ish sized hill. Getting up it wasn’t very fun, and I realize I need to practice climbing a lot more. This hill was nothing compared to the mountains we’ll be crossing this summer. Going fast downhill was awesome though, and I clocked in at a top speed of 28.3mph.

The whole point of going to Wheelworks, however, was that I wanted to get a new saddle. Saddle choice is a very personal thing, and the only way to pick the right saddle for you is to get one, and ride on it a whole lot. The Terry Butterfly, however, seems to be a very popular choice amongst women, so I went with it. I’m too lazy to pull out my camera to grab a picture, so the stock picture from the website is below. Aesthetically, it’s not as sleek looking as the Specialized Alias saddle that came with my bike. Who cares about aesthetics though, when it comes to the comfort of your butt? Wheelworks has a 2 week saddle exchange policy, so I can ride the Butterfly for two weeks, and if I don’t like it, exchange it for any other saddle they have, until I find one I like.

There’s only about 6 weeks left in term, and 9 weeks until the start of Bike & Build. This year has gone by so fast, and while I am excited about being done with school and the upcoming tip, I’m also not really looking forward to graduating. I’ve had an amazing time at MIT, with ups and downs of course, but I’ve really come to love this place, and will be sad to leave. I only half joke to my friends that my life would be perfect if I could pick up my dorm and move it to California.

As the clock ticks by, I’m also getting a bit nervous about Bike & Build. I’ve met my fundraising goal (phew, once less thing to worry about), but there’s still a lot to be done before I think I’ll be ready. There’s still the affordable housing curriculum part of the sweat equity, and of course, the training.

I signed up for B&B knowing that I was a complete novice when it comes to cycling. I had a beat-up old bike that I used to ride around campus and to run short errands, but I hardly knew anything about the sport. Riding in traffic on city streets was terrifying, so whenever I biked to the nearby grocery store, I stuck to the sidewalks. I also didn’t know how to fix a flat, and couldn’t name the different parts of a bike if my life depended on it. So, as a geek, what else would I do but turn to the internet and do all the research I could? I’ve spent the last few months reading up on cycling (Sheldon Brown’s website is wonderful) and lurking on Bike Forums, absorbing the lingo and trying to understand why the Touring sub-forum is obsessed with Brooks saddles and being called a Fred is the worst insult for a roadie. It’s been interesting, and informative.

I’m starting to train for the trip now, in earnest. I signed up for a spinning class, and have been trying to spend as much time on my bike as possible. Every time I go out for a ride, I can tell that I’m improving, and am more comfortable on my bike. Devon, Jess, Eric and I went for a ride today, up to Alewife where we started on the Minuteman Bikeway and headed past Arlington before turning. I’m comfortable riding and signaling in traffic now, and am starting to get a better feel of how to shift and keep a steady cadence (having a cyclocomputer with a cadence sensor is very helpful). None of my rides have been very long; the longest one was our ride today, at 13.95 miles, but I’m going to steadily increase my mileage each week, riding whenever I can during the week, and going for longer rides on the weekends. My goal is to complete a century (100 miles) before the start of the trip, by biking to Cape Cod over the Memorial Day Weekend.