One of the first major investments I made after deciding to pick up triathlon training was a road bike. In fact, this is the first bike I ever bought since the ones I had before were city cruisers that I got from my parents as a child or that were somehow passed on to me. It was pretty exiting to go to the bike store and tell the guy that I wanted to do a triathlon but figured I would start cycling on a road bike since they are cheaper than the actual tri-bikes and I didn't know if I was going to stick with the sport. After the guy measured me an told me about the different sizes of bikes I ended up purchasing a basic road bike from the German company Cube. It is in fact a "Cube Aerial" with an aluminum frame. Additional purchases that day were a bike helmet, pedals, spare tubes, a pump, bottle holders and bottles, a bib and bike pants, and after my first ride on the bike a saddle that would allow my sit bones to actually fit on it. The funny thing is that the saddle is more like a mountain bike/touring model but it's really comfortable and I figured that for somebody like me who is just learning to handle a road bike it's not going to have any negative effects as far as speed and performance goes. So here I go, all proud of my new bike and ready to ride. Well... what I've since figured out is that I am uncomfortable riding the bike around the many other bikers out there. I mean the guys (I rarely see other women) that just look so professional in their gear and on their crazy bikes. I always feel very intimidated like I don't belong out on the road with them. I am really still learning the basics such as properly shifting my gears and I don't wear the clip-on-pedal-shoes yet. The fastest I ever went on the bike were 34kmh (21mph) and it makes me feel anxious and awkward to be out there. It's not actually a fear of riding the bike itself, it's more of a fear of making a total idiot of myself pretending to be road biking... I have talked to people about it and everybody said that I shouldn't worry about it but somehow I can't help myself but feel a little lost on the bike. Although I am not a swimmer and runner either it just feels more natural to be in the pool and the park. A big difference is that I can actually see what the other people around me are doing since they are not just passing by me in lightning speed which gives me more of a perspective on their and my abilities. This bike anxiety is not going to stop me from learning to handle and race my bike but so far it makes the riding the hardest part of my triathlon experience. I will keep you posted on my progress and hopefully will be able to overcome this unique condition!
