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I got a free black Mace C4 helmet! I forgot about sizing though, so it is a bit too big, and I need some extra padding inside. I guess I'll use my regular helmet for now.
Holy shit my bike is heavy. I knew it'd be heavy, but it's really heavy! I will call her Vélo!
It does not help that I bought a big rear basket, put my laptop in it, and consequently, it made my bike top heavy and tipsy while riding. I am a wiggly rider! At almost every stop light, I tried keeping my balance with one foot tippy-toed on the ground, but trying to start up again scared me because I thought I'd fall over, so I'd walk it across, pretend my leg was hurt and swallowed my pride. Also, I am not used to this being a step-through, and I remembered half-way that I could dismount by slipping off the seat and standing on two feet. This helped with balance issues. :D
I rode it from the store at 10th and Manitoba, all along 10th Ave, found the Central Valley Greenway (CVG), rode it to Holdom Station, and waited for the bus to take me up the giant hill to Hastings. I got everything ready to go because I knew it would be a struggle, so I think I was pretty good. The driver helped me though, ack. Embarassing. My bike almost didn't fit in the rack (it's a big bike). I still think it's kind of shaky...I really don't know. I'm very very very scared. I was really scared because the driver said it kind of looked too big...and for the whole ride up, it was shaking all over (I know they all do that anyway), but I prayed and prayed that it wouldn't come crashing down and have the bus run over her.
When I took the bike off the rack, I got stuck in the turning handlebars and I think the driver couldn't help but laugh at me. I told him it was my first time (with this bike, anyway)! I don't even know how to properly lift this bike up. Nervous.
Tomorrow I will be riding her to work and using the skytrain at 6:30 (even though I start at 7:45). I will be following Translink's rules!
Friday I may bring it into Richmond to try riding there, but again, I'm deathly afraid of what will happen on the bus...but I don't want to ride it to Richmond from my house!!!
I also kept slipping off the seat. After some googling, it seems I have to get a wrench to tilt the seat back a bit. My butt hurts. Also, I have tons of leg bruises.
All in all, I still love this bike, but wish it were a little smaller. :O I think I'll get the hang of it though. I practised riding up some steep hills! It's actually pretty good for short distances, anyway. The CVG is pretty cool. Burnaby still needs some work (under construction), but the nice smooth paved bits in Vancouver are great to ride. It was a good feeling, seeing so many cyclists with me - I felt safer in a group. :) 10th Ave is pretty good - not too much traffic at 5:30pm! Anyhoo, I look forward to riding my Vélo lots more before summer's over!
Holy shit my bike is heavy. I knew it'd be heavy, but it's really heavy! I will call her Vélo!
It does not help that I bought a big rear basket, put my laptop in it, and consequently, it made my bike top heavy and tipsy while riding. I am a wiggly rider! At almost every stop light, I tried keeping my balance with one foot tippy-toed on the ground, but trying to start up again scared me because I thought I'd fall over, so I'd walk it across, pretend my leg was hurt and swallowed my pride. Also, I am not used to this being a step-through, and I remembered half-way that I could dismount by slipping off the seat and standing on two feet. This helped with balance issues. :D
I rode it from the store at 10th and Manitoba, all along 10th Ave, found the Central Valley Greenway (CVG), rode it to Holdom Station, and waited for the bus to take me up the giant hill to Hastings. I got everything ready to go because I knew it would be a struggle, so I think I was pretty good. The driver helped me though, ack. Embarassing. My bike almost didn't fit in the rack (it's a big bike). I still think it's kind of shaky...I really don't know. I'm very very very scared. I was really scared because the driver said it kind of looked too big...and for the whole ride up, it was shaking all over (I know they all do that anyway), but I prayed and prayed that it wouldn't come crashing down and have the bus run over her.
When I took the bike off the rack, I got stuck in the turning handlebars and I think the driver couldn't help but laugh at me. I told him it was my first time (with this bike, anyway)! I don't even know how to properly lift this bike up. Nervous.
Tomorrow I will be riding her to work and using the skytrain at 6:30 (even though I start at 7:45). I will be following Translink's rules!
Friday I may bring it into Richmond to try riding there, but again, I'm deathly afraid of what will happen on the bus...but I don't want to ride it to Richmond from my house!!!
I also kept slipping off the seat. After some googling, it seems I have to get a wrench to tilt the seat back a bit. My butt hurts. Also, I have tons of leg bruises.
All in all, I still love this bike, but wish it were a little smaller. :O I think I'll get the hang of it though. I practised riding up some steep hills! It's actually pretty good for short distances, anyway. The CVG is pretty cool. Burnaby still needs some work (under construction), but the nice smooth paved bits in Vancouver are great to ride. It was a good feeling, seeing so many cyclists with me - I felt safer in a group. :) 10th Ave is pretty good - not too much traffic at 5:30pm! Anyhoo, I look forward to riding my Vélo lots more before summer's over!
Yeahhhhhhh that's right, I damn well bought it!
