Nickel

Name: Nickel

Bike: Yellow Racer/Blue Commuter

Riding Style: I haven’t met a style I haven’t liked

Why do I ride: Fun. Freedom. Fast [trying]

My biggest challenge so far: Rock gardens & wheelies

My future goal for cycling: Win a race and improve my technical skills

Best biking story: My first real bike was a Trek MTB.  I had this idea of a biking trip on Cape Cod when working out East.  I planned on cycling from Mid-Cape on a trail to get halfway there and then ride on the road to Provincetown, where I wanted to eat at a sweet cafe called Tofu A Go-Go.  My backup plan was a bus that would get me back to the trail, or halfway, if I felt really tired.

Note: My longest ride at this point was maybe 15 miles.  I also thought it was a great idea to bring 10 Clif Bars and 6 bottles of water, all in a backpack.

The first half of the ride went great, traveling on a super flat rail trail.  The second leg of the trip was a different story and was quite hilly so it took a while to get into town.  I decided to go check out the bus so I would make sure I could get a ticket as I was pretty tired (40 some miles at this point).

To my great surprise, there was no longer a bus.  My best hope was a shuttle to get me one town further out.  Great!

I decided I should enjoy my meal and then hit the road as soon as possible.  It had taken me over 5 hours to get out there and I was hurting. I stuffed myself silly and went and laid on the beach for 30 minutes.  I knew I had to get going because I didn’t want to get stuck out in the dark.

I found the shuttle and rode it to the next town which saved me 5 hilly miles.  I remember pedaling so slowly up every hill.  I considered trying to hitchhike a few times but decided it might not be the best idea.  I finally made it back to the rail trail and kept pedaling. I stopped for 15 minutes so I could eat some ice cream but hurried since the light was fading.  Despite my best efforts, I ended up in the dark, 5 miles out from the trail head.  Using my cell phone for some light, I was able to get back to my car. I collapsed inside and considered sleeping there until the morning.  I figured that was also a bad idea and decided to drive the 40 minutes back to my rental, where I collapsed soundly, 87 miles in the bag.

What turns my crank about cycling:  30mph was never so exciting