My boys couldn't believe it.
My wife actually got on her bike and rode it for about 1 1/2 hours.
This is the 2nd time that her bike has actually seen pavement since she bought it back 7 or 8 years ago. The first time was last year for about 30 minutes.
Yesterday morning my wife announced that she'd like to go out for a ride in the afternoon which left the boys with some rather unbelieving looks.
The weather was fantastic yesterday, sunny and clear in the low '60's, wind at around 10mph. Since it rained the night before I waited until about 12:30 before I went out for quick 40 minute warmup on the road bike and came back for my wife. I'd already had the tires pumped up on her bike and my old hybrid; off come the road shoes and on go the MTB shoes. A quick switch of water bottles and off we go.
My wife has knee and other joint problems so we just took it easy, 8-10 mph sometimes ever slower, just nice easy spinning so that she could get used to shifting and braking. Like most people in Canada, she was grew up riding either a fixed gear with a coaster brake or a three speed with the good old Sturmey Archer hub so riding with a compact triple and MTB gearing is a big change.
The hybrid she got (Trek 7100 WSD) turned out to be a good choice. It's a comfort bike, has a step through frame and the WSD comes with a nice wide saddle.
We live practically right on the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail so after a spin around the neighbourhood for about 30 minutes we got on to the trail at the Rouge Beach which is close to our house . I kept us on mostly on the flats and deliberately kept off of any steep climb and got her to start downshifting properly while doing any climbing. I'd also like to get her stop riding the brakes while going downhill but this was a good start. Any place where there was any sort of incline was long and gradual and he could spin her way up without putting any strain on her knees.
It was a gorgeous day to be out, all sorts of people out walking, riding and rollerblading. My wife had never seen the Highland Creek trail so we turned north onto the Highland Creek trail, up to Colonel Danforth park , a quick stop for a drink and then we rode back, this time a little faster.
Totals ? 90 minutes, approx 10 very leisurely miles.
By the time we got home she said her knees were sore but not the usual sort of joint pain that she usually gets so it sounds promising. There was still some residual soreness this morning but she still managed to go the gym after work.
Now here comes the good part.
She wants to go out on her bike again tomorrow.
