bike anxiety

Confession: I'm kind of afraid of my bike.

It started so well. We were falling in love. She reminded me of when I was a little kid and spent afternoons riding (back then, a beach cruiser with bears wearing sunglasses painted on the frame). I learned the definition of the word "Wheee!" all over again.

But the last two rides have been crappy -- it's like I have completely regressed with the clip-ins. Starting is fine. Riding is great and so much fun. (Hills -- I actually like hills!) But when I stop, it's a disaster. Dear bike: You might be a sadist.

Which brings me to my current anxiety: There's a group of people at work who ride on their lunch break, and they invited me to join them. The truth is, I'm kind of scared to do it. It's one thing to fall in front of your friends and another to eat shit in front of co-workers.