Leave Me to the Vultures!

Oh the things we do to make friends. While talking with a coworker at the Embassy either Paul or Jen mention that Jen's bike had just arrived, that she enjoyed biking around the city and the park, and that Jen had done a triathlon. All true. The coworker invites Jen to go on a ride with she and her friends on Saturday morning. Great! Opportunity to make new friends!!!

So at 625am on Saturday morning the coworker picks up Jen and her bike and they head out of the city for the long ride. Fast forward 2 hours - "Leave me to the Vultures!" Jen is thinking, "I don't think I'm going to make it back to Tel Aviv," "I am NOT a biker"..."Bike for sale"..."Free Bike"..."I should be protected from this by the UN Declaration of Human Rights!!"...."Throw bike off of balcony!!!"

Although Paul and Jen were reassured that these ladies were slow bikers, 20 years Jen's senior, and this would be a shorter ride - they didn't understand that this was coming from the equivalent of a marathon runner! Imagine taking your 1986 tricycle on a hundred mile ride with Lance Armstrong. That is how Jenny felt. (Really she had a road bike (from the 1980s) and the ladies weren't quite Lance - but pretty close!)

The 40 kilometer ride (~2 hours) up and down hills wouldn't have been so bad if Jen had had all of the professional gear the other women had. What was she missing? The shoes, the pedals, the biking shorts/pants, the shirt, the jacket, the gloves, the glasses, the headband, the pump, the spare tube, the cushioned seat, and the (on average) $1,000 triathlon bike. (Compare the bike to the right vs. my bike)

Why in the world did I think I could do a 40 kilometer ride with my old bike, running clothes and my Target helmet? I don't know. It was crazy! I almost died! (exaggeration...I almost gave up, threw up, and then collapsed).
But I was saved :)

About 20 miles into the ride - Jen's bike broke. Yes, broke. The wheel was crooked, the chain fell off, something bent. Thank you God! The other women (save one) biked back to get the car and came out to pick me (and the other) up and drive us to the end. During breakfast after the ride (remember - this is 7am on a Saturday!) the women were joking about how I must be thinking how old they were...true - how did someone that much older than me just make me feel so out of shape! These women are amazing! They vowed to take me to a bike shop and get me back out there with them on a better bike...and training for the Tel Aviv triathlon.

Eeek! Do I really want to be turned into that serious of a biker? Can I really compete in this triathlon against these women?

On the positive note - it was a great experience! I saw the country-side, got a great workout and met some really nice women! I'll update later on my decision to keep biking with them or do the triathlon in May.