I've got a bike, and my bum hurts.

Resigned to several weeks non running and recovery, I'm determined to keep a measure of fitness going. I've made the brave / stupid decision of purchasing a wheeled beast to aid me in this. I had not ridden a bicycle since I was 8. 23 years have since passed.

Why a bike? I've been really struggling to find an enjoyable alternative to running on my days off (and obviously now, through injury). Weight's really do suck and I can't do step aerobics / shred / fitness DVDs because the all want me to do some form of weight bearing activities like jumping jacks. Biking will hopefully give me a similar buzz to running when I beat speed and distance PRs as well as being fun outside, which I prefer.

So there's my new steed. I picked it up, already assembled from Halfords which is quite near where my parent live, so it equates to about a 5k ride home. I was extremely nervous about falling off of it. My wife dropped me off and waited to make sure I was OK. It took me about 3 attempts to fight the instinct to put my foot down straight away. I was wobbly and struggled with cornering and particularly downhill sections but I made it home without falling off!

I need to work out how to shift gear properly. I could not get the front low gear to engage at all and near the end of my ride, the chain actually came off altogether needing an emergency repair.

All in all, I actually rode about 6k, adding on the distance that my garmin wasn't on. I'm pleased with my first run and will just spend the next couple of weeks learning to to ride correctly and safely now. I've added some smallish bike targets to the blog to challenge myself.

I also purchased the cadence sensor for the bike because as you know I am a stats freak!

My first bike run home is HERE