katakat.com bytes from a participant observer

It's been 16 years since I bought a bicycle. My, how the technology has changed. My old bike (which I always thought of as the "new bike" when I also had my 10-speed) is a lightweight touring bike built for the petite woman, with a smaller front wheel. Basically, a pain to change tires. Normally I research the hell out of major purchases, but this time I just walked into a store and had the salesperson sell me something like what I think I wanted. So I left with an extra-small mountain bike that looks like a monster compared to my touring bike. It has disc brakes and a lock-out on the front fork for rigidity on regular roads. Of course, one can't just buy the bike and not the $$$ accoutrements, such as pump, new helmet, lights, camelpack, etc., etc. So much for buying a computer any time soon. I took the bike out today for its maiden voyage. I went with two friends who know their way around the bike paths of SD. We did about 17 miles, all around the bay and parks and even the boardwalk. It was a beautiful sunny day, and since most of the hustle & bustle from tourists is gone, it was a great ride. Not bad after a 15 year hiatus from any serious group riding. True, it *IS* just like riding a bicycle.... When I get better at handling the bike (especially the part about NOT using the left-hand brake, which has caused many riders to fly over the handlebars), I'll actually use it on some trails around here. Until then, I'm sticking to bike paths. I may try to ride it to work, since it's only 3 miles each way, but the traffic is really scary.