free wheelin'

I picked up my shiny new bike (a birthday gift from my husband) yesterday & took my first ride today...12.5 miles around a 3 mile loop (took a little less than an hour) in the reservation, a nature preserve by my house. I had a good workout but I was also getting the feel for the bike computer, cadence, starting to learn about shifting gears. There was one near miss when an off-leash dog came running toward me but I didn't crash or fall over, remembering to clip out (remove my cycling shoes from special pedals) before stopping...and it was fun!
One of the guys at the bike shop spent a long time making sure that the adjustments were just right and teaching me some basics - super helpful since I basically have not ridden a non-stationary bike since I was in middle school!
As I told someone just now... strange comparison, but it felt a little like what I enjoy about skiing...playing with balance & technique, seeing the scenery go by, a little fear/adrenaline, testing myself to see if I can NOT slow down out of panic and instead embrace the speed and the bumps, and joy...I liked it!