Cycling in England: stress and scenery

I can't believe it has been over 9 months since I have been on a bike ride. I really miss going out for a 2-3 hour ride in the warm, sunny hills of Austin. I slowly did some research for a used road bike, and also checked out the local shops in town. No luck in about 3 weeks of searching...and it was a coincidence that my friend text me last Sunday to see who wanted to go on a bike ride from Oxford to Blenheim Palace. I was on the verge of buying a bike - Kent and I had even picked out the right one that day. Caroline said she had a bike I could borrow, so I showed up on Monday (we had a day off work - a bank holiday) and rode her fiance's large old-school Trek road bike. It was way too big for me and weighed about 30 pounds. Good thing it's relatively flat around here! I also borrowed his cycling shoes - only 2 sizes too big thanks to my big feet. We were all sorted, and we set off for my first ride in England (the other gals are a little rusty too). We took it really slow and I had my first taste of Oxford traffic - sharing the road with buses, navigating busy roundabouts, and of course riding on the left side of the road. Once we got out of town, the scenery was beautiful. We covered about 25 miles in just under 3 hours...stopping a lot, taking a few pics, and cruising in to Blenheim Palace (well at least up until they said we'd have to pay £10 to ride through the grounds! no way!). It was a great first ride....





Later that day I headed back to the bike shop. I am planning to do a few triathlons this summer, but only wanted to buy one bike for commuting and "racing." We don't want to drop a ton of money on a bike and potentially have to sell it in the fall - and I didn't want a super expensive bike sitting locked up to a bike rack and in the elements. So, the end result...I bought a cheapy commuter road bike. It even had a bell. :-) . It will work for a few months, and hopefully get me through a few tris.


I rode the bike to work on Thursday and Friday. Let me tell you, I have never arrived at work more stressed! I am still working out the best route. There are cycling paths, and most drivers are very aware of cyclists as there are tons of students and people like me who cycle to work. It will just take some getting used to to navigate roundabouts in the wrong direction and watch out for busses. Friday morning I even had the pleasure of riding the entire way (only 3.5 miles) in a steady rain. It didn't matter that I had blow-dried my hair that morning....I arrived to work with a nice, wet helmet head. I'll figure it out....


On the tri training side, I am realizing I am very out of shape on the bike!! I've been running, swimming, and doing yoga about 3x per week each.....and I have discovered that yoga is not an acceptable substitute for cycling!! HAHA! Thursday evening I joined the Oxford University triathlon club for the first time at their "turbos" workout. The club has about 15 turbo trainers (like at left) which let you ride your own bike stationary....we did about an hour spin class. Then Saturday I joined the Tri club and the Oxford U cycling club for a road ride. I had no idea what to expect, but was a little discouraged when I was waiting for the ride to begin and people start rolling in on their super expensive bikes and full cycling regalia. Luckily there was another guy who was a beginner. I myself felt like it was the first time I had ever been on a bike! The plan was to break into a faster and slower group, and obviously I was in the slower. The group would race from stoplight to stoplight, and I could barely keep up just getting out of town! When we got out on the open road, they quickly formed a pack, and I was at a full sprint to keep up! These people were serious cyclists, not just in it for part of a triathlon (like me). I hung for about 30 minutes, and the other beginner and I started to get dropped. One guy and gal from the club hung back with us (so we didn't get lost) and we formed a little pack. It was very windy, but mainly flat countryside. Thank God for that, because the few hills we did encounter killed me. We kept up a pretty quick pace (maybe 17 or 18 mph!!) for about 20 miles. I felt so out of shape, it was embarrassing. Thankfully the burning in my legs and lungs distracted me from the pain in my bum!! We rode some beautiful countryside, I think. I had to tear my eyes away from the wheel in front of me to remember to check out the scenery....which at times reminded me of Pflugerville. That is until we would ride through a small village past 500 year old churches, fields of yellow flowers, groups out for a Saturday horseback ride. We ride 27-28 miles in under 1:40....not bad for my first time out. There's a more relaxes women's ride that I'm going to join during the week, and hopefully keep up better next Saturday.

I think I'm going to enjoy training and commuting here....once I get used to the traffic!!
-Karen