I feel like a cyclist...sort of

Okay, I'm no Lance Armstrong, but I'm starting to feel more like a real cyclist. I wonder, has Armstrong ever fallen off his bike (twice), because he couldn't unclip his shoes from the pedals in time?

I recently got a new road bike, which is another term for a bicycle with skinny tires and a hard seat. For several years now, I have been using my father-in-law's old mountain bike, and while I never did well in physics, it was easy to understand that cycling 120 km to Whistler would be better served with a bicycle that didn't have big knobby tires, like the kind found on jacked up pick-up trucks.

I've never worn the spandex get-up that those real cyclists wear, and so my wife joked that for the ride to Whistler I'd probably show up (and embarrass myself) wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers. And what would be wrong with that? "You know, I'll only laugh at you for about 10 minutes if you get the riding gear," she mused.

When I was getting the bike, the guy at the shop said you'll need some pedals with clips for your shoes. Shoes? I thought I was just going to wear my sneakers. I now have shoes. And then the guy said I can't wear baggy shorts with a bike like this. My shorts weren't even that baggy...not like those young punk kids with their baggy pants. Who knew there was such a clothing etiquette to cycling? I figured I'd just jump on and pedal away.

After riding for a couple of weeks with my "baggy" shorts, and at the urging of my wife (she just wanted her 10 minutes of laughter, I'm sure), I finally bought a cycling shirt and spandex shorts, which nicely come with some padding in a very important place.

The other day I slid into my shorts, pulled on my new shirt, clipped my shoes into the pedals and hit the road. It was the first time that I kind of felt like one of those real cyclists. Maybe the same way the bowler, who has his own shirt, shoes and bowling ball, feels.

My wife didn't even laugh when she saw her spandex-clad husband climb on his bike, though she may have snickered to herself.