With the two recumbents in the shop, and the weather turning unexpectedly mild, I decided to take down my old 10-speed bike and see if I could ride it. I could have gone and picked up the EZ-Sport, since it was supposed to be ready today, but I didn’t want to drive 70 miles just for that, then turn around and do it again on Thursday.

My first shock was when I removed the bike from the ceiling hooks. Jeez, I didn’t remember it being so HEAVY. I set up a scale and weighed it, and it turned out to be nearly 40 pounds. Yikes, that’s a lot for an upright!

I bought this bike in Spring 1980, and over the next year or two put quite a few miles on it. I used it to commute to my first real job that summer, a 17-mile round trip through one of the hottest summers in memory. I then took the bike to college and rode it around town for a few years. I made some vague plans to do some touring on it, but it never happened.

Over time, I rode the bike less and less, and eventually, not at all.

In 2004, resolved to lose weight and regain some fitness, I had pulled it out of the garage and tried it again. I even went so far as to put new tires on the bike and get it tuned up. But by that time my RSI didn’t allow me to put weight on my hands, so leaning over the drop handlebars was a problem. That was when I put the bike back in storage and started investigating recumbents. And once I got bent, I never rode the 10-speed again.

Until today. Today I took the bike down from the ceiling hooks, pumped air into the tires, and took it out for a spin. It felt pretty good at first. My RSI is under control now, so my hands weren’t hurting too bad. And I was in reasonably good shape now, so the legs were fine. Two miles into the ride, I was still feeling pretty good, so I kept going. Four miles in, and I was starting to feel it, so I turned around and headed home.

The last two miles, in particular, were tough. My hands were beginning to feel the pressure, and my leg muscles were hurting in unfamiliar places (upright cycling uses slightly different muscles than recumbent cycling). But it was my rear end that was the real pain in the ass (literally).

I didn’t remember that seat being so HARD!

It was painful, and actually felt bruised. Well, so much for that little experiment. Back on the hooks you go!