Back to the basics

Saturday my boyfriend and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and go bike riding around the city. Let me just say that I am not a biker and that it's been probably 15 years since the last time I rode one. I never liked it much as a kid because I was constantly scared of going too fast and losing control. But, like I mentioned in this post, I want my bf and I to be more active together, so I was willing to suck it up and give it a try.

We went to this semi-ghetto place on the Lower East Side to pick up our rental bikes, and as soon as I jumped on mine, I could feel myself getting anxious. As I attempted to pedal, I realized that I couldn't. Seriously, I couldn't ride the damn bike. I FORGOT how! Now, how the hell is THAT possible?

As I struggled with the pedals and became more and more frustrated with each try, I developed an audience. People stopped to watch the 29 year-old girl who didn't know how to ride a bike. One lady even shouted out, "It's OK, girrrl. You'll get it!" Seriously? Am I still in Manhattan? I could walk down the street wearing a bikini in the dead of winter and no one would think twice, but somehow my inability to ride a bike was the most interesting thing everyone had seen that day. Awesome.

My boyfriend seemed shocked about what he was witnessing. He tried instructing me, but I was so pissed off with the whole thing, I just gave up and started bawling my eyes out. (Yes, it was as pathetic as it sounds.) But, as you know from this post, I'm no quitter. So, I took a deep breath and really tried to focus on what my boyfriend was telling me about pushing off with one foot, pedaling with the other, changing gears, etc etc. And finally, I got it!

We rode all the way from the LES to 81st street in Central Park, and there were many hiccups along the way. We rode along the FDR, which was a HUGE mistake. As I tried to squeeze by this railing, I totally knocked it over. Ouuuch! I kept going, but we ended up turning around as soon as we saw how unsafe and narrow the bike path was. Scar-y.

Three hours later, we were at the park. (I was going at a snail's pace!) We found our group of friends and chilled out for a bit, but around 5pm we realized we only had two hours to get the bikes back in time by 7pm! Shiiiit! We left in a hurry and devised our plan of attack of how we were going to make it back a whole hour quicker than before. My boyfriend decided to stay behind me so that he could guide and encourage me. Push it honey, PUSH IT! Go left, now veer right, now PUSH...If you tell me one more FREAKING time to PUSH.IT. I'm going to go FLIP.OUT. Silence. Two minutues later, C'mon, honey, PUSH IT! Bickering ensued, but time was running out, so I ignored him and kept on pedaling the best I could. Thinking back on it, it was pretty hilarious. I felt like we were on Amazing Race!

And guess what, we made it back to the bike rental at 6:30! We hugged and did a little victory dance, and I didn't care who was watching this time. I was just so happy to be back on the ground in one piece!

The afternoon was more stressful than fun, but it was definitely a bonding experience. Kudos to my bf for being so patient and putting up with my pouty behavior! Tell me: Has there been a time when something as silly as riding a bike brought you closer to your partner? And what's your favorite sunny day activity? Who has bike riding tips for me? I NEED 'em!