This Biker Mama had to learn the gears again

by Denise Dykstra

I was recently rearranging some things in our garage and came across my bike.  Ah, my lovely bike.

So far this year I have not taken it out once.  NOT ONCE!  But last year?  Last year was a different story.

This was a post I shared last year with my friends. I dug it out to share with all of you:

 

The bike adventure:

“Mama, you are looking hot,” Eli, my 16 year old son, informed me. He was giving me side ways glances.

“I am hot!” I panted, “I am nearly dead!”

Yesterday, we bought me a bike. Tuinstra Welding had bikes for sale and one was my size.  I have been looking for a bike AND it was $10. I was so excited I nearly hugged Mr. Tuinstra and I very literally rode it home.

I have never ever had a bike with gears, so in a strange set of circumstances, my sons, Eli and Abe, had to teach me how to ride a bike today.

Eli went over that bike just to make sure it was deemed safe for his mama and had me ride it up and down the sidewalk today to “get a feel for it.”

I did not crash.

Then this evening after dinner they suggested a REAL bike ride, so we rode down to the Evers/Martin/116th Ponds.

What could go wrong?  It was only 90 degrees out.

Because my sons felt they had to protect their mama who was just learning to ride a bike, Eli and Abe had me ride in the middle.

On the way to the ponds…

A muskrat nearly ran into us.

A dead raccoon had me nearly puking.

I should have known then this was going to be adventurous…

My dearly loving boys decided to just go a tiny bit further.

Did I mention I left my phone at home? I mean, we were just going to go down the road a piece and back and I thought I should leave my phone at home. Be in the moment. Present. All the good mom things. I had no way to call my older sons to come rescue me if I needed rescuing.

And now I was thinking I was going to perhaps be in need of assistance.

We rode past one of my friends’ house and if she had been outside she would have heard me hollering, “Water! Air! Water! Air!” Because I was realizing this wasn’t going to be good for me. But I was too far gone to stop now.

I saw a tractor hauling a hay wagon and nearly flagged it down for a ride home.

What kept me going was not my motherly love. No. It was pride. It was the fact (mostly) that today I am wearing the clothes that I wear when it’s too hot to wear clothes and I did not want to be found passed out on the side of the road in such clothes. And I had to keep going somewhat fast because I also didn’t want to see anyone in my said clothes.

As we turned down the dirt road with chatter bumps that I now had to ride over and corn closing in on me to make the breathing even more work, Eli looked over at me. “You look hot, Mama.”

We stopped under a tree where I used my shirt to wipe sweat away not even caring that my pale stretch marked tummy was showing as I mopped the sweat out of my eyes.

We rode into town on smooth paved roads and I was never more elated to turn the corner and see my driveway. My beautiful home.

Eli asked me if I was “getting it.” Learning how to shift gears is not quite like shifting a truck, but I didn’t crash and caught my gears so I guess so?

I literally pulled into the driveway cheeringm “I didn’t die! I didn’t die!”

A passing farmer driving a tractor heard me and  looked at me as though I may have heat stroke.

When I went to walk up the steps to my back porch, I could hardly clear the steps. My legs just didn’t want to work any more.

I fell into my cheery yellow outdoor chair. Abe brought me water. Eli brought me ice cream.

So.

I apologize to all who may have seen me riding around Martin. Brace yourself, I am going out tomorrow.

No photos of me in my too hot to wear clothes clothes. Just a cheery pic of when I thought my bike was the awesomest yesterday.

Well, I guess I do still think it’s awesome.

New adventures for us!

(Posting this so it comes up in memories next year. Also, just in case anyone needed a laugh at my expense. Also, if anyone has bike riding tips. I have literally wanted a bike for so long so I am so very excited!)

That was my bike story.  That summer we rode bikes so much!  This year both my boys have jobs and it isn’t fun to ride without them.  I mean, friends are not lining up to experience this sort of adventure riding bikes with me.

But I did love riding it and I missed my bike when I saw it leaning, forgotten in the garage, cobwebs over it. So could someone tell me some good bike paths to try?  I am very motivated to try adventures if they involve good coffee or delicious ice cream.