BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 30 min.
TIME BACK: 29 min.
WEATHER: overcast, -7C, 7 km/hr wind there; overcast, -5C, 9 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: fleece pants, turtleneck, fleece mid-layer jacket, lobster gloves, balaclava
NOTES:
Old habits die hard.
When I was eight years old, I started horseback riding as a serious hobby, taking lessons year-round instead of just going to riding camps in the summer. During my first year of taking these lessons, I remember walking into my rental horse's stall to groom and tack him up when, just a few steps into the horse's stall, I got a sideways kick from a back hoof that landed in my stomach. Keeling over, I ran out of the stall fearing for my life from this obviously rabid beast. What would possess this animal to do something like that??
"It was your fault," the instructor told me nonchalantly when I went to tell him of this grievous injustice. "You entered the stall on the wrong side. You have to remember - you have to do everything on the horse's left side." Apparently this is something I did not do. I had entered the stall with the horse facing away from me and to my left, so that when I entered into his personal space I was on the right side of his flank - the perfect spot for a good kick. And apparently this was my fault, so I deserved it.
Horses are typically trained to be approached and mounted on the left side. This is a hold-over from when soldiers had to mount their cavalry horses on the left so their belted swords wouldn't stab them in the process. So, how could this possibly relate to biking, you say? Well, I've noticed that no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get comfortable putting my right foot on the pedal first. I have to lead with my left foot. The left foot has to hit the pedal first and it has to make the first rotation. This means that whenever I stop, like at a stop light or behind a car in traffic, I have to make sure to kick my left pedal into position before I take off so that I can jump on it and pedal away the moment I need to get going again. This can be kind of awkward, but it's just the way I operate now.
Amazing how one little horse-kick to the stomach of an eight-year-old will really make a lesson stick in the brain. Who knew?
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