Soft Pedaling

I took my bike out for a walk yesterday. It will last very long if it continues to get such kind treatment. Actually, I do plan on caring for it very well. My intention is to cover alot of ground — starting in the near future — mainly planted on the saddle, which is super comfortable by the way.

The Course

The course was a hill, deceptively gentle-looking, until you experienced it by bike. It is two-and-one-eighth miles in length with two-thirds of it at a 30-degree incline (approximately). The remaining flat one-third is questionably positioned at the very end. Perhaps that's the reward for pushing uphill relentlessly for half-hour. This was the first time I've tried biking up that route. Well, technically it's the second but going just a few yards at the base of the hill 8+ years ago on a very heavy bike doesn't count as a proper first try.

A pro cyclist gave me some tips prior to attempting the ride. He said to break up the hill into three parts; ride more slowly than I intend to; ride the first third, come back down; and so on. YouTube and cycling websites offered great suggestions and demonstrations on how to climb, so I felt very prepared.

When I got there, I completely forgot about breaking up the hill into parts and tried to cycle up all in one go. Actually, pedaling in-between mad vehicular traffic on an evening prior to a public holiday had knocked out all my memorized tips and tricks, but for the one to ride in the slowest gears. Yet, it seemed I still needed gears lower than 1 and 1.

At any rate, it turned out well. Considering that I rode the steepest part of the road most of the time (the inner rim against the hillside) and was still dealing with a bout of sinusitis, I'd say making it up two-and-one-sixteenth miles was a good result. And I only walked the bike about five times.