The Reality

I picked up the bike and it's safely in the garage.  In order to get the bike you have to go for a fitting.  "They" say that it will make the riding experience more comfortable.  Well here is what "I" say.  Although we've come a long way from my dad picking up my bike at Canadian Tire and putting the old CCM together, at least in terms of price, we have still not mastered the comfort issue.  Hey folks this is the 21st century.  We send men/women to the moon.  Where is the "pillowtop" version of the seat?  A woman must have developed this just to get back at men, I'm convinced.

What is the most amusing is that you find yourself talking to a complete stranger, in public, about regions of your body normally not discussed.  

Hmmm..." okay you'll be fine once you develop a rider's callous".  Two questions; Since when did having a callous become something you look forward too, and can't I just buy one, hell I bought everything else?

Then there was the big question: When you squeeze yourself into the Lycra short with straps (when this is over I can join the WWF) are you supposed to go commando?  Drumroll please, yes, you slather your chamois with expensive cream, squeeze into the lycra, and then " place yourself comfortably on the saddle".  The definitive word here is "place".  Okay what do you do when everything you have "placed" decides to move with the first pedal movement, huh?

I also loved the comment " it takes awhile but eventually it will go numb".  What?  I don' want to go numb there, frankly I like having feeling there.  

So as I am training, if you see me riding by you with a grimace,  you can be sure that I am commando, and the numbness nor the callous have been developed yet.

On a personal note thank you to all of you who generously donated with the first letter.  

Thanks for your friendship, and Debbie M - I am riding for all of us.  I am doing this because I believe that we are entitled to a world class cancer center that heals both the body and the soul. That we can develop a model for psycho-social support that begins with oncology and can then be used for catastrophic illnesses of all kinds.  Join me in supporting The Tour De Lance.

Tell your friends about the blog and encourage them to follow along and  support me at

www.tourdelance.ca , go to riders and select my name.

Stay tuned, Sunday is my first training ride!!!!