Banishing winter malaise on my new bike
tostita had the bright idea of getting bicycles for the whole family to help improve our odds of actually getting some exercise. I have a love/hate relationship with regular exercise. I've never been very athletic, but when I was younger, I liked biking and snow skiing.

I recently bought a Novara eXpress road bike at REI, a 2007 model similar to their 2008 model, but $200 less expensive due to a clearance sale. Bicycles have come a long way since I last pedaled around as a teenager. Push-button shifters! 27-speed gear sets! Carbon-fiber forks! Quick-release wheel assemblies! Toe clips!

The weather turned snowy and nasty right after I bought it, so today was the first chance I had to really ride it outside of the quick parking-lot demo I did at the store.

I was feeling down, but I keep hearing that exercise can help lift your mood, so despite the blahs I headed out. There are lots of good bike paths and less-traveled side streets in my neighborhood, we are lucky that way. I biked maybe a mile and a half total, figuring out how to best use the toe clips and the shifters. My wallet fell out of my coat onto the street once, fortunately I noticed. Some biking clothes and a fanny pack might help with that issue. I did not want to carry stuff in my pants pockets. It was about 45 degrees F out, so my ears were a bit chilly by the time I got home.

I do feel a bit better after having ridden around.