Tag Archives: spandex

CHEESE

To donate to Liz’s Bike to Build at NBSS Fund, click here

Sunshine

In all my years of biking, the thought of taking a “selfie” while on a ride never entered my mind. With the start of this cycling to NYC venture of mine came the narcissistic, social media driven selfies. I must say it feels a little self-indulgent, but I am doing it to keep any followers abreast of what is going on with my training and fundraising. Because I am trying to become a more serious cyclist (rather than a recreational cyclist), there are a few things that as a rule do not do as a cyclist…and sorry if this offends anyone who does any of the things I am about to mention:

  1. I do not ride my bicycle on the sidewalk
  2. I don’t cycle without my helmet
  3. I don’t have a flowered basket, a bell and/or a horn on my handlebars
  4. I don’t cycle with sandals
  5. I have clips not pedals
  6. I wear spandex when I bike…not regular clothes
  7. I don’t ride with headphones on
  8. I ride with traffic and not against it
  9. No matter what, I do not walk my bicycle up hills or across the street unless there is something broken on me or on my bike
  10. Until recently, I do not take photographs of myself or other things while I am riding….definitely not in eye shot of any onlookers.

While I firmly stick by the first nine bullet points and have not strayed from those, I have to admit that number 10 is one which I have become all too familiar with as of late. As far as I know, I had not been caught taking selfies on my bike…that is, until recently when I faced complete cyclist humiliation.

At about 6:00 a.m. this past Friday, I rode for the second time in Blue Hills, which has been a great workout and a beautifully scenic ride. On this particular morning I was taking in the glory of the moment, as the sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing to me, and Pink’s “Trouble” was vibrating through the wireless speaker against my back and through my ears as I was making the first considerable climb of the morning. The reservoir water was glistening brightly to my left and there wasn’t a car in sight….a perfect moment for a snapshot I thought. I was cruising along at a good pace and feeling strong momentum, so I didn’t want to get off my bike. I pulled my phone out of my back right pocket and snapped a few pics of myself from various angles…side view, up above and a goofy one from the front…posing from different angles as though this was a Sports Illustrated photo shoot. Feeling so elated in the moment, I was completely unaware of anyone around me, so I placed my phone back in my pocket and enthusiastically shouted out the lyrics, “I am trouble…” No sooner had I released the word “trouble” from my lips, that I noticed a peloton of 4 male cyclists with legs like Lance Armstrong which flew by me at blazing speeds. The saying “one person’s trash is another’s treasure” comes to mind here except I ought to change the words to, “one person’s amusement (or four people in this case) is another’s embarassment. As if it wasn’t bad enough that they left me in the dust, but then I had to get caught grooving to Pink and taking pictures of myself by four buff cyclists with matching shirts. If I had known they were on my tail,  then at least I could have snapped a picture with the four of them behind me so it looked like I was leading the peloton…and then asked them to say, “CHEESE.”

My only saving grace was that I was able to pass them as they stopped for a water break at the top of the hill. I pedaled by as fast as I could without looking back…and never saw them again.

Blue Hills a.m. Blue Hills sun

To donate to Liz’s Bike to Build at NBSS Fund, click here