Recumbent in Boulder

(Oops, missed a day! Trying to find a new rhythm here...) I'm traveling again this week (like some sort of snake-oil salesman); in Boulder, Colorado for a meeting of my de facto professional community. Suvia will join me on the weekend for a Rocky Mountain Front Range mini-vacation: our first time away together since... let's see, Dylan's almost 6. Can't wait.

To get into the Boulder spirit, I canceled my car rental and rented a recumbent bicycle for the week instead. (I'd always wondered what those things were like.) I brought my own pedals and SPD shoes from home, like the serious rider I'm not; and this morning I felt very "with it" setting out for the one-mile walk to the Boulder BikeSmith to pick up my 'bent... until I stepped outside. Into dripping rain. Hadn't even considered that possibility! Talk about overlooking the basics. Once the rain tapered off, I felt even less clever when I actually tried to ride the thing: who knew a recumbent was such a wobbly, scary ride? (OK, well, the angle on that front fork speaks volumes...)

So I'm bobbing and weaving all over the lane; I feel like a kid learning to ride all over again. Loads of fun! By tomorrow I might even feel confident enough to click those shoes into those pedals. Meanwhile, I can't wipe the grin off my face; it feels like I'm riding a deafening chopper to the Monster Truck show, with my arms outstretched, my little front wheel 'way out past my feet, and my 8-inch Hulk Hogan mustache blowing in the breeze.