"I hadn’t been on a bike in a decade or so..."

I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous getting on my bike at Ziggy’s on Monday, as I hadn’t been on a bike in a decade or so. However, it’s true what they say … after having my seat and helmet adjusted, I hopped on and it came right back to me.

My first official commute on the bike was from work to home on Monday evening. I am fortunate to live fairly close to work, but it was a beautiful day so I decided to lengthen my ride. After about 25 minutes I was really starting to get my confidence back. Initially on the sidewalk, I had made my way onto the road alongside some light traffic and was feeling good.

It wasn’t until I was approaching my driveway that I learned the first hard lesson of the challenge.

The curb cut at the base of my driveway is a couple inches high, and before I could realize the angle I should have taken in order to end my ride gracefully, I was on the pavement. It was the first time I had fallen off a bike since I was a kid. The pain was as just as bad; the sense embarrassment was ten times worse. I got up, assured a passer-by that I was ok, and went inside.

A couple hours later (after some rest and some ice), I got back on my bike, riding to and from my Ultimate Frisbee game. All without incident.

Lesson #1 – be conscious of curb cuts …

- Meaghan K. from Communitech.