An Update with Lily

Greetings Readers

I have to say that owning a Mountain Bike is nice.

I am not sure if I really told you Readers the benefits of the new Mountain Bike.

I can ride up and down hills and do not have to stick to the concrete/asphalt/pavement as I have to went riding my Road bike. For fear of my Skinny Tires getting bent, getting stuck or sliding, etc. With the Fat tires of the Mountain Bike there is no fear. Literally. If I want to ride off the curb I can do so without worrying about my rims.

I like the sound of the knobby tires on the road. More importantly I like the grip of the knobby tires. I have no fear with turning the bike sharply. Not that I have before, but I do have a bit of fear when there is snow, rain and ice and I have to turn corners on my race Michelin road tires. Now, with the Mountain bike tires I can turn without worry.

I did graduate from riding up and down hills to stairs. I started with 2 steps and now I am up to 6 steps. Fucking pretty nice since I can ride down the concrete stairs instead of carrying my bike down the steps. Pretty soon I am going to be able to ride 10 plus steps. I just have to make that I am not going to fast since I get the feeling if I am going too fast while I am going down stairs I feel like I could literally go over my handlebars.

Another important point is going to the store after work, which during this part of the year it is full dark when I have to go to the store after work. Taking my Road bikes to the store I have to be careful not to ride into a hole, or anything that could dent my rims. Whether me not seeing in the dark or not paying attention or assuming that it was okay to ride through without slowing down since I know that path in the daytime. Now, with the Mountain Bike I do not worry about hole, pot holes and rocks since I literally have a fat tire and the possibility of denting a rim is almost nil compared to a road bike rim. I am not saying that it could happen to my Mountain Bike, but the odds are now in my favor.

Anyway, the investment of the Mountain Bike was the best thing for me.

I still hate that I am pedaling more than I should since I using a smaller crank. I also find that the fat tires have more surface area with the pavement so I have to pedal with a bit more effort and I still find myself getting out of the seat and standing up while going uphill every now and then. Some of that is my fault for not down shifting/up shifting, but I am soo use to being in the largest gear and pedalling hardly or smoothly, and every once in a while I have to get up out off the seat.

That may sound like a complaint, but it is not, just something I noticed.

Wait! I do have a complaint. Damn me - I had to learn the gears and braking on the Mountain bike. Different placement and also a different handlebar compared to my Road bikes. So, I think it was last week that I wanted to shift into another gear when I squeezed the front brake and yours truly came to a complete stop with me almost going up and over the bar to "Kiss Mother Earth" which no one likes to do.

On a routine basis I have three different shifters that are located uniquely to what Road bikes I am using in a rotation. Sometimes the gears are behind the rear braking lever, sometimes the shifting is located on the brakes, but are activated by pushing the brake levers sideways, or I have the speed shifters which are located on the inner and outer part of the handlebars, and then the old school Motobecane I have the old school shifting / derailers levers on the bike frame. I think, there is one more variation that I use but I can not remember at the moment.

Overall, I am getting used to the new gear and brake placement, but every once in a while I get confused and have to actually think which one I have to apply pressure or click so I do not go up and over the handlebars or skid off some rubber from my expensive tires on the pavement.

And I guess that is the only update with Lily.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete