Cue Freddie Mercury

Cycle Day
My first real cycle day! How exciting! Up until this point I've been rolling along at 24 Hour Fitness on one of their stationary bikes trying to get my quads up to speed. But, thanks to Obi Tri Kenobi, those days are over. Today I rode on the road. (Side note: Don't you just love homophones? I do.) Ride overview first:

Plan Suggested Time: 45 min
Actual Time: 50:30 (I may have gotten farther from home than anticipated so it took slightly longer to get back. But I was close!)
Distance: 10.13mi (JogTracker app)

First things first. Clipping in. More than anything else, this part made me nervous. Clipping in is the act of attaching your one and only body to a bicycle in order to get a more efficient leg stroke. You do this by connecting the clips on your super special shoes to specially designed pedals. This is not as easy as it sounds while moving. Fortunately, once figured out it's also not that bad. I was more worried about getting out than getting in. I think you can imagine an emergency stop when you're attached to the bike. If unclipping isn't a reflex you will fall over. Well, I didn't fall over. Had some troubles getting my other foot clipped in after I started moving but that will come with time. Clipping in is a good thing because then you can have power all the way through the stroke, both on the push and on the pull. This will make my legs big and strong. Grrr.
Once I got riding I was concerned about the biggest danger on the road: Other People. You know who they are. You've seen them. Driving. On your road. Like they own it. Jerks. Being a motorcyclist, I know these people. And I think the awareness that bike has given me will translate well to this bike.
My ride went well overall. I went down to an empty parking lot to practice turning and stopping (both important skills). Because of the nature of the topography around my house I did have to do some small, small, short, short climbs. In the beginning this wasn't too bad but the last one of the ride was less than fun. Let's just say I wanted to it end and leave it at that.
I got the gearing pretty well figured out I think. Only had a few times where I would shift and suddenly the pedals were free-spinning because I had chosen poorly. In school we call this a "teachable moment." On a bike I call it, "Holy crap! That was a mistake! Fix it fix it fix it ahhhhh better."
I'm looking forward to my next ride. Today has convinced me of two things. 1) Cycling will be the most challenging discipline for me. 2) I can get it done, and I can get it done strong.
Tomorrow is my run. After today, I predict a little more suck than normal. Again, grrrrr.