I am not sure where the idea came from, but I decided to try and ride a bike outside today instead of walking. I have two bicycles: a 2003 Giant NRS3 mountain bike, and a 2015 Trek 7.4 fitness (hybrid) bike. I believe I purchased the mountain bike for about $1,200 and the hybrid bike for $750. I had another hybrid bike that I bought in high school but gave it to someone at church a long time ago.
I bought the mountain bike while I was still married, and would go riding with some church people. The group rode pretty often and had much more expensive equipment than my Giant. We would usually ride the Fullerton Loop, and I would always be the last to finish. It was fun in the summer, but we also rode in the winter when it was already dark. I had to buy super bright halogen lights to see where I was going.
After moving to Orange and having my sister move back to SoCal from Oregon, I wanted to ride some of the paved bike paths in Irvine. The mountain bike was fine, but it was super heavy. I also did not want a expensive road bike, so I bought the Trek. It has an upright frame, but has super skinny road tires.
I literally rode the bike only once after I purchased it. Having not ridden for a long time, I went on a long ride with my sister and niece. I was fine until I was not fine. I probably overexerted myself and my legs cramped. I think my sister rode home first, and came in her station wagon to pick me up. Totally embarrassing. Before I knew it, I started dialysis and did not feel like I have the energy to ride a bike anymore.
So today was the second time I rode my “new” bike from five or six years ago. It was both easier and harder than I imagined. I was a bit wobbly at first, but as the saying goes, I was riding fine after about five minutes. I learned how to ride a bike in elementary school so over 40 years ago. Since I could not find my bike helmet, I just rode in our neighborhood. It was pretty easy until I had to go up a slight hill, and it suddenly became difficult. In the end, I only rode for 17 minutes and covered ~2.5 miles. Next time, I am going to buy/find a bike helmet and see if I can ride a bit farther, even though my house is surrounded by hills.
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Looking on Amazon at bike helmets, it is pretty evident there are two groups of products. One group are the ubiquitous cheap Chinese products, some selling as low as $20, and having strange and awkward brand names. This is common for a lot of products. Each one would be virtually identical to several other products, but would have a “brand” name of seemingly random letters. The other group of bike helmets are $50+ and made by Giro; my “lost” helmet is also made by Giro. The dilemma is whether to save money and go with a cheaper helmet, or go with a brand name. For a bike helmet that could possible save my life or protect from brain damage if I fall/crash, I think I will spend the extra money. I am super leery of crappy Chinese products, and have been actively avoiding anything “Made in China” as much as possible. Apple really need to get their shit together and rethink their supply/manufacturing chain.
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Speaking of the China supply chain, I am not usually the liberal social justice warrior, but this China using slave labor to make stuff (in this case cotton) is disgusting.
Life with chronic diseases 