It's a BIG deal

Let me start by saying that I teach at an amazing school.  My friends are helping with my fundraising efforts there and our campaign slogan is "It's a BIG deal."  We started promoting the Big deal on Wednesday, but the catch is we aren't telling the students what the big deal is until after Christmas.  This is an attempted to harness their curiosity and push it towards the greater good.  After Christmas break we will tell them that the water and AIDS crisis in Africa is a Big deal, and they have the opportunity to help by donating money to the Blood:Water mission.  The climax of the fundraising will be our annual staff vs. 8th grade basketball game.  On Wednesday we hung signs around the entire school and many of the teachers were wearing shirts that proclaimed, "it's a Big deal."  The students took the bait and all day they were asking, "what is the BIG deal?!?!"

Middle schools are a great place for rumors to spread and there are many great rumors about the Big deal.  In the morning, the students were convinced that we had bought them pizza for lunch and that was the big deal.  Other ideas floating around the school were class trips to exotic destinations.  There is one theory that Justin Bieber is coming.  My favorite rumor is that President Obama is coming to speak at the 8th grade "graduation" celebration at the end of the year.

Some of the students were clever enough to notice that my last name was plastered around the school on posters and t-shirts.  Whenever a student asked me if I was the big deal I gave them a disgusted look and asked, "is that some kind of fat joke?"  Most of them laughed at that and then went on to guessing other possible big deals.  However, I did have one class inform me that they would not call me fat...words like "big boned" and "husky" more accurately described me.  Middle schoolers; you gotta love 'em.

The First Ride

Had you watched me leave for my first ride on my new bike you might have thought that I had never ridden a bike before. 

The ride was from my sister's house to my parents' house (about 9 miles).  I am grateful to my brother-in-law who went with me because, as I mentioned before, most people fall a few times as they are learning to ride with shoes that clip into the pedals.  He not only knows a lot about riding, but he is also a PA, so if I had fallen and hurt myself he would have been able to put me back together :)

As I was rolling out of the driveway and attempting to put my shoes into the pedals my brother-in-law ran beside me to make sure I didn't get a mouth-full of cement.  Just like when Dad taught me how to ride a bike the first time.  He must be practicing so that he is ready when his boys learn to ride.  Of course my sister was also there in the front yard yelling words of wisdom and snapping pictures. 

The ride was a success.  I didn't fall and we made the trip in good time.  I will admit that I was a little cold when we were done.  36 degrees isn't exactly ideal riding weather.

New Bike

I picked up my new bike on Saturday.  It's pretty great!  It has a computer that tells me about my mileage, average speed, max speed (so far my max is 23.7) and other things.  There is a sweet light on the back so that cars will see me; however, it will probably be really annoying for anyone that is riding behind me.  I also have a mirror, but don't worry it's not one of those dorky mirrors that sticks out on the side.  It is in line with my handle bars.  I haven't quite gotten it adjusted yet so that I can see what is behind me, but I'll have it figured out by the time I hit Oregon.  The bike even has a bell...I'm not quite sure why there is a bell (I didn't pay for it!), but I think it is funny and I might just leave it on there.  The bike also has the pedals that you clip your shoes into.  Many people have told me that I will fall a few times as I get used to these new pedals.  I would like to take this opportunity to say that I have gone on two rides and have not fallen yet.  Congratulations to me.

Spinning

I have been going to spinning classes for the last few weeks.  The first time I went I was a little nervous because I had no idea what to expect.  I talked to a few people about it and they made comments like, "oh, that's a great workout," or "you're going to be sore!"  To say the least, these comments did not help with my anxiety.  Plus, the instructor's name is Rex, and anyone with a name like Rex must be able to bring on the workout pain. 

So, I took these concerns and went to my first class.  As the other participants started showing up I became encouraged.  I was expecting a lot of hard core cyclers with...oh I don't know...missing teeth.  But most of the other people in class were older ladies and even older gentlemen.  For one brief moment I thought, "I can handle anything these guys can handle."  Then class started and they proceeded to kick my butt.

If any of you ever go to a spinning class let me give you a hint.  There is a little dial you turn to make the spinning harder or easier.  The instructor will say something like, "turn it up two or three full turns!" 
DO NOT DO IT. 
The instructor does not actually check to make sure you turned your bike up, so technically you could just sit there at level one all night.  I have found that this is a great place to use my math ratio skills.  When Rex says "turn it up" I do, but not quite as much as he said.  A good ratio for me is 1 Rex turn = 0.5 Rebekah turn.  (And my students think they will never use math in real live :)

Over the past few weeks I have gotten better and soon I will be all the way up to a full "Rex turn."

No hands

This is a slightly embarrassing confession...especially for someone who is planning on biking across the Pacific Coast in 8 months. 

I have never been able to ride my bike with no hands. 

Riding with both hands on the handlebars is no problem.  I can even ride with just one hand while I eat an ice cream cone or talk on the phone with the other hand (both skills I picked up in college).  But I have never mastered hands free riding.  This is not from lack of trying, I just have never had the courage to let go for more than a second.  All this coming from the girl whose dad is the master of riding with no hands.  I remember taking bike rides and thinking that his hands were off the handlebars more than they were on them.

Today all of this changed!

Since it is so beautiful outside (November 11th and 75 degrees!) I decided to go for a quick ride.  Equipped with my new helmet I was braver than ever.  I just let go and kept on pedaling.  Turns out it is not actually that difficult.  I did not fall or even come that close to falling.  By no means am I ready to attempted the "flying eagle" (no hands, standing up and pedaling at the same time), but I do feel more prepared for next summer.

Across the country???

I keep telling people that I'm going to be biking across the country this summer.  This is technically true--I'll be crossing from south to north--but I find that most people assume I'll be taking a west to east route.  When I clarify they seem somewhat less impressed.  Excuse me?!?  I fail to see this as any less daunting of an adventure. 

The thing that concerns me the most is the mountains.  My thinking is that I will just stay right on the coastline and then the whole ride will be at the same elevation...sea level.  Unfortunately this theory will probably not work out for me.  Going up a mountain will no doubt be difficult, but I am also a bit worried about coming down a mountain.  I hope that new bike has good breaks!

Buying a bike

Let me start by telling you everything I know about bicycles:

They have two wheels.

There, that is everything I know about bikes.

That being said, the idea of purchasing a good bike that will make it all the way across the Pacific Coast is a little bit overwhelming.  I did some Internet research and that left me feeling even more inadequately informed about buying a bike.  Fortunately, I have a great brother-in-law who is into triathlons and he was willing to help me out.  So, over fall break I headed up to Michigan to go bike shopping with him and his family. 

We went to a couple different shops and I ended up getting the Tricross from Specialized.  My brother-in-law was in charge of the technical part (computer, pedals, and that sort of thing).  My sister took care of the color coordination (went with the gray and white bike and a white helmet).  And I was in charge of paying the bill.  To say the least, for a girls who is too cheap to pay for cable, this was a BIG bill.  My bank even called to alert me that an unusual purchase had been made.  It may have been a big purchase, but I think it is worth it...and I don't even have any buyers remorse. 

The bike is being ordered and made and I get to pick it up at Thanksgiving. 

A big thank you to everyone who helped in the bike purchasing process, including my little nephews who hung out at the bike shops with us.  The day was a success.  We even ended up with two stuffed animals, a fleece blanket, and some balloons!