Huffing, puffing and pedaling to work

This week is National Bike to Work Week, and this morning the rain finally subsided long enough for me to take part.

Riding my bike to work proved to be an interesting experience, as I am accustomed to riding after work. Getting on my bike and making the 18-mile trip to work first thing this morning was an exhilarating way to start the day, and a lot of fun besides.

Actually, the day was doubly fun, due to the fact that this was my first trip on my new bike. Yup, I've finally ditched the tank-like mountain bike I've been riding for the past year and bought myself a bike a little better suited to the type of riding I do.

I decided to go with the Trek 7000, an economical, entry-level hybrid. I had been weighing this decision for quite some time and had at first been leaning toward a Diamondback Insight, until I had a chance to actually see one live instead of online. Perhaps if I had ridden it, I would have felt differently, but something about the looks of the bike just didn't fit what I was looking for.

I then started looking at Trek and Cannondale, which are the two brands carried by the Prestonsburg bike shop, Pro-Fitness Multisports. Of course, I fell in love with the Cannondale name and mythology, and was prepared to buy one, until Don at Pro-Fitness assured me that, for my needs, the Trek would entirely suitable, and for half the price.

Well, it wouldn't take much of a bike to beat what I had before, but I was wholly impressed on this morning's ride. A much, much lighter bike, I was able to chug over all three mountains along the way without stopping to catch my breath -- something that was impossible before. Plus, I was able to trim about half an hour off of the commute.

It will take some time to get used to the skinnier tires, which means I'll probably have a scrape a knee or two during the learning process. But based on my first trip, the education is going to be a heck of a ride.