This post could also be titled, that time I failed at inflating my bike tires.

So after my crash with the car last weekend, my left handle bar got a little bit bent.


Coach Zach came over last week to take a look and fix the problem. It only took him a few minutes to get the handle bars fixed, but then he noticed that a few other things weren't aligned properly.

I'm 99% sure those things weren't a result of the crash. I had been complaining about my left arm feeling like it always bore my entire body weight every time I rode since I've had the bike.

When Zach took a closer look he realized that my handle bars had been put on crooked. So when my tire pointed straight, my handle bars pointed slightly to the side. And when they were straight my tire cocked to the left.

Zach looked at me in disbelief and wondered how I had never noticed it. Uhhh...because I had no clue that could even be a problem. How was I supposed to know my bike hadn't been assembled properly?

But what really took the cake on the whole night was when I was asking Zach how my tires could be so low when I had just pumped them up the other day.

I guess it turns out you need to actually open the nozzle thing before you can put air in the tires.

I had literally been locking the pump on and just pumping air out into the room because I didn't realize there was a little part that you needed to unscrew first to put air in the tire.

It's OK to laugh at me. I'm pretty sure Zach nearly fell over he was laughing so hard. But seriously, I had no clue I was doing anything wrong.

Further proof that I am still a total newb at this whole biking thing.

Just a friendly public service announcement: When you are biking, wear a helmet.

Over the weekend I got hit by a car while I was riding. I am fine, please don't panic! But it was definitely a terrifying experience.

The car came from behind me, and I guess the driver thought I was taking the road that veered off to the right, instead of going straight because he definitely turned right into me.

I must have seen him coming out of the corner of my eye because I was somehow able to stop enough that I didn't get hit by the front of his car but rather got hit by the passenger side.

I awkwardly used the car to break my fall, which prevented me from crashing into the street. I whacked my head and jaw pretty good on the car, but I had my helmet on so there was no serious damage to me.

I was extremely lucky to walk away with nothing more than frazzled nerves and some bent handlebars, which coach thinks are fixable. Thinking about how much worse it could have been freaks me out, so I try to avoid that train of thought completely.

So this is just a friendly reminder, you never know what could happen when you are out riding, and even if you take every precaution in the world, sometimes bad stuff still happens. So wear a helmet when you ride.

1. I finally got around to buying a pair of bike shorts when I was in PA for Easter, and last night I tested them out. Holy crap, why did I wait so long to get a pair? They were amazing! My butt didn't hurt once the whole ride! That little bit of extra cushioning works miracles, I tell ya!


The only downside to these babies is that I'm going to get some super awkward tan lines this summer. Runner tan lines were bad enough, but bike short tan lines....I'm pretty much dreading them.

2. Did you know it's possible to blow a tire while riding on a trainer? I had no idea, but my aunt told me she's blown three rear tires doing trainer rides. This makes me extremely nervous and I did my ride last night with pretty low tension to avoid any problems.

3. When I was home for Easter I hit the pool with my mom for a masters swim class, and I found out a lot of her swimming buddies are doing the Philly Tri too! I was super excited and asked them for lots of advice and got some details on the bike course. They assured me the bike course isn't that hilly and there aren't too many tight turns, which is one of the things I'm most nervous about. My turn radius is not good. I really need to work on it. But I am so excited that there's going to be a good group of people that I know doing the tri in Philly. That means I'll have lots of friendly faces to hang out with before the race starts when I'm feeling super nervous!

One more day til the weekend! Happy Thursday y'all!

Last Sunday the weather was absolutely gorgeous and I was excited to get out and bike on Beach Drive, a stretch of road through Rock Creek Park that on weekends is closed to cars.


Biking in traffic still scares me a lot so I like to take advantage of car-free biking whenever I can.

Sunday's ride was going so well. I was intentionally take it easy since I had just worked out like crazy on Saturday.

I was just out enjoying the weather and being outside.


At one point I felt something on my face and went to wipe my nose.

I lifted my left hand off the handle bars for a fraction of a second.

At the same time I must have pulled a little too hard with my right handle while trying to balance because the next thing I know, I had lost control and was heading straight for the curb.

I didn't have time to swerve back to the left before my bike went up and over the curb.

I remember thinking for a second that maybe I could maintain control and just come down the other side.

Turns out road bikes can't really handle that, so instead I found myself flying through the air.

I crashed onto the grass hard on my right knee and shoulder. My momentum led me to completely barrel roll and then pop back up on my feet.


I winced my when I put pressure on my right leg and sort of hobbled back to my bike.


A cyclist who had seen the whole thing happen stopped to see if I was OK.

I checked out my arms and legs, didn't see any blood.


I didn't hit my head at all so I wasn't dizzy (and I had obviously been wearing a helmet.)

The only real damaged seemed to be that my bike chain had popped off. The guy who stopped helped me get it back on. After a quick thank you, we both headed on our ways.

I hopped on my bike to quickly pedal the rest of the way home. I knew the adrenaline would eventually wear off and I would start to feel the pain of the impact.

Sure enough, as soon as I get my bike back home, my knee and shoulder started to throb.

My knee was bruised and ridiculously swollen and it hurt to lift my arm. I had a few scrapes and more bruises developed in the following days, but because I fell on the grass, I managed to avoid any road rash.


All things considered, this was a fairly minor crash, and it hasn't shaken my confidence too much on the bike. But boy was I sore all this week. It's only today that my right arm is starting to feel more normal, and the bruises on my legs are showing signs of healing.

Last Thursday before I came home for Christmas the weather was in the 60's in D.C. and I thought it was the perfect day to take my bike out for a second ride.


I'm still really nervous riding my bike on the busy roads in D.C., but luckily the D.C.-area has several well-maintained trails perfect for biking and running.

On Thursday, I decided to explore the Capital Crescent Trail for the first time. This is a great trail that runs from Georgetown in D.C. all the way into Montgomery County, Maryland.


Seven miles of trail from Georgetown to Bethesda are nicely paved, while the rest of the trail is crushed stone.


I took my bike to the paved part of the trail and set out on my ride.

I was a little shaky at first. There were a lot of people out running and biking, and I was worried I'd crash into someone.

But after I was going for a few minutes, I was getting a pretty good feel for shifting and braking.

I started feeling more and more comfortable picking up the pace a little bit.

In total, I did a 14 mile ride in just under an hour and ten minutes. According to Garmin, that works out to something close to a 12 mph pace.

I'm hoping we get some more mild days in D.C. this winter so I can take my bike out for some more rides. My bike confidence is definitely building with each ride.