The search for a New Sport

So something’s been missing from my blog/life this summer... After 3 years of rocking the Summer Rowing League this year we didn’t do it because our team essentially imploded. The rundown of what happened: 2 people moved out of town, one is currently 8 months pregnant, 2 people upgraded to the competitive team which rows every day and travels all summer to regattas, 1 person joined a soccer team that conflicts, 1 person is finishing up grad school and therefore super-poor, so that just leaves me and Matt. Then Matt got his guy friends to commit to once a week pick up basketball so he didn’t really want to do it… leaving just me. As much as I love rowing I didn’t think it would be nearly as much fun without my friends.

But I really missed it. A lot.

And I especially missed the outdoor exercise…

So clearly I need a new sport. The glaringly obvious problem being that as Matt said “sports are not in your power alley.” So I made a list:

Things I Will and Will Not Tolerate in a Sport:

1. No ball. I’m terrible at sports that involve balls. I just don’t have that type of coordination. And if it’s a sport that involves hitting a ball with something? Like tennis or golf? Forgetaboutit. Epically bad at those. And honestly I have no desire to get any better.


2. You get to go fast. All of the sports I actually like to do (meaning skiing and rowing) involve the basic principle that faster is funner.


3. No running.


4. You get to have shiny gear that makes you better at the sport. What can I say - I am my father’s daughter. Skiing is the ultimate on this one. Ski gear is the best ever.


5. You get to go cool places/see cool things because of the sport.

Skiing we get to go on many trips to places like Colorado,

Rowing we got to see the city from the unique perspective of the river,

Hiking we got to see just unbelievable things in Peru,

and around town.

Basically I operate under the principle that I’ll hike up any ridiculous mountain if there’s something cool at the top and love every minute of it, but make me run across a field towards nothing more interesting than ball and I am NOT a happy camper.

So yeah...good thing I’m not picky at all… heh.

Really, though, the answer is obvious. Once I made the list and talked to a few friends there was no doubt in my mind of what I wanted to do:

I bought a bike!!!!

It’s shiny and red!

And of course I did a belligerent amount of research into all of the features that I wanted… It’s a hybrid with the 700C tires – so closer to a road bike than a mountain bike but still able to handle gravel paths. It’s the unisex frame but because it’s only a 15” frame the top bar angles down far enough that I’m comfortable with it not being a true step-through. It’s a Raleigh and that’s supposed to be a good brand, and it has front and back shocks to deal with all of the bumps of our Cleveland roads.

Plus it’s red.

I”ll admit. I kindof wanted a pink one since I’ve always had a pink bike… but I guess red will do. The matching helmet helped to convince me...

Dexter is less impressed with the cute bike and just wants to go back into the air conditioning.

The people at Century Cycles were wonderful to work with. I asked a bajillion questions and went back twice (after visiting several other Local Bike Stores). They were patient and dealt with my “can I just try it one more time to be sure” crazy.

So far I’ve put many miles on this bike. I’m completely amazed at how far you can go how quickly. I rocked something like 11 miles last night in just over an hour? Not too shabby. And the other fun bonus is that most of my friends are bikers. There’s already talk of taking a day trip down to Peninsula and of meeting my DC friends in the middle for a biking/camping weekend.

I really like my new sport.

And with that we're off to Raleigh, North Carolina for a wedding. Have a good weekend!