LIKE RIDING A BIKE.....

 All my life I've heard people say something akin to "it's like riding a bike".  I guess it's supposed to mean that you never forget how to ride a bike once you learned how, or it is easy to recall how to do once you know.  So relax and whatever is stymying you will come back to your remembrance once you begin.  I probably said the same kind of thing myself to other people here and there over the years.  And, I believed it because no matter how long it had been since I had been on a bike, I could jump on and my body knew instinctively what it needed to do.  I had a feel for it.

That was then...

When I consistently rode a bike.  Oh, not the years we took those loooong rides  to the train tracks or the necessary rides to the chapel or piano lessons, etc. when the kids were growing up in Arvada--but the pleasant little jaunts here in Johnstown after we moved here.  I would go up to I-25 and back or around the neighborhood or down to the chapel for a meeting.  Just tame stuff, but still a pleasure once in a while.

Pretty soon, though, it had been at least a couple of years since I had been on my bike.  I don't know why.  Lazy maybe.  I do know once before that long hiatus, I had my daughter pump the tires for me so I could ride--and I did.  Later came the time when I was still flying, and I had some time at home where I could fit in a short ride--and didn't.  

Then my bike got pushed back to the nether parts of the garage where it became awkward to extract  from the jumble of yard tools, the kiddie pool, and the outdoor furniture including umbrellas.   As time went on it might have looked like I wasn't interested in riding.  That's when my bike got hung from a hook on a beam in the garage.  Then it was downright impossible to grab and coast off for a little ride.  I just couldn't lift it down without assistance.  A few times in the past I had asked for that help but  didn't persist when it wasn't forthcoming. So nothing happened.  

When summer rolled around this year, I emphatically asked if my bike could come down out of the rafters and get some air in the tires.  Sure....Then Louis did one better.  He took it to the bike shop and had them do a complete tune up and refurbish for some parts that were sketchy and needed help.  It took a couple of weeks, but when Louis brought the bike home it was practically brand new!  WOWEE!!  Except for the little nick in the seat upholstery, it WAS brand new.

This is now....

Unfortunately, I wasn't at the bike shop for the technician to adjust the seat to my height.  Turned out the seat was too high which made it impossible for me to stand up in the crotch of the bike, put my foot on the right pedal and be in control as I pushed off.  Though I rode it those first few days with the seat too high and was sure I was going to come crashing right down.  Same when it was time to stop and hop off the bike.  That darn seat was just in the way.  It took another few weeks after asking Louis to help me adjust it (the set screws were just too tight for my arthritic fingers!) before he was able to get to that little task.  

So, now the seat is lower , but I am having a heck of a time lifting my leg through the crotch to get set to mount the bike and ride.  What happened!?!?!  The bike no longer feels like it is connected to me, a sleek little vehicle which I feel at one with.  No, I'm afraid to raise my arm to signal.  I'm apprehensive about cars coming up behind me and passing.  I am holding my breath.  By the time I get back home, I have seriously wondered IF I was going to get back home safely.  Fifteen minutes, and I am shaking like a leaf!

In short, I am a beginner once again.   I literally have to take myself in hand to wheel the bike out of the garage and ride around the neighborhood for a short ride.  Guess the only solution is to just keep trying until the bike feels familiar once again.   Isn't that one of the mantras of life:  "If you fall off, just get back on and try again."  

I do love riding a bike!  Maybe there's still a future in it for me....