the new destrier

I'm tempted to name the bike, but I haven't thought of a good name yet. I did take the bike out for a very brief and painful ride over the weekend, and a few things immediately became apparent. But first: a sexy (if somewhat blurred) shot of my bike's ass:

I knew there wasn't going to be a kickstand because most grown-up bikes don't have kickstands. When you Google the reason why, you get answers like "expert cyclists don't want the extra weight," "the stand can swivel out and catch the cyclist's foot," etc. I'm neither for nor against kickstands, although I admit I miss the convenience of being able to park my bike anywhere without having to lay it on the ground or turn it upside-down, thereby dirtying and/or scratching up the seat and handlebars.

So the absence of a kickstand wasn't a problem, but the absence of a second set of brake handles was. I may have to go back to the bike shop and see about getting a new, better set of brakes installed. With the current drop-handlebar setup, I have to move my hands down to the lower part of the handlebars to squeeze the brakes. With my old Nishiki, this didn't use to be the case: I could also hit the brakes while holding on to the upper part of the handlebars.

Also: it took only five minutes to realize that I need a new seat. Riding the bike is a painful, painful experience. Despite the bike-shop owner's advice to just power through it and get used to the discomfort, I've decided it's better to get one of those padded, ergonomic seats for plus-sized riders. It'll arrive later this month, and given that the swelling in my right foot still hasn't gone down, I predict I'll still need to be biking as a way to get in some cardio.

I took the bike out at night and wheeled it around our local park. Total distance: about 1.5 or 1.7 kilometers. Not far, and only a few minutes of biking. I had some balancing problems; it was rough going as I wobbled the handlebars while trying to find my equilibrium. I also wobbled while shifting my hands from the upper to the lower parts of the handlebars to hit the brakes. As I said above, that's going to be a huge issue that needs to be fixed pronto. My ancient reflex, a product of not-quite-forgotten muscle memory, has always been to apply the brakes while my hands are on the upper part of the handlebars. I also somewhat regret going for the drop-style steering; when I rented that hybrid bike in early 2017, it had so-called "flat" (i.e., straight) handlebars, and I didn't have much trouble using it. Maybe the wide spacing of the grips afforded greater stability and less wobbling, and that's what's missing with my bike's current, narrower handlebar configuration. Then again, I don't think the steering is a huge issue; I'll get re-acclimated to using the drop bars soon enough. But getting a different set of brake handles is now a high priority, right alongside getting a new, more comfortable seat.

I'll take the bike out for a spin several more times this week, painful though that might be. My steed and I are still in the process of getting to know each other, and there's a lot I've forgotten that I need to relearn.