Upright, or Upwrong?

Ouch...it's been 9 months since I rode anything other than a carseat any distance.  But this week, Monkey3 kept asking me to take her on a bike ride.  As it was somewhat cooler this morning I conceded.  The kids prepped the bikes, and off the three of us went, to ride the neighborhood.

Even after living here just over two years, there were a couple side streets I had never been down.  So since I was ostensibly leading this ride, I decided to explore.  We ended up riding down all the roads in the neighborhood. 

It was fun...and mildly painful.  I rode my Specialized Roubaix, an upright, not my Encore recumbent.  The roads here are a bit narrow, and the Encore has a relatively large turning radius.  And I'm just a wee bit out of practice.  The Roubaix makes my hands hurt, my shoulders hurt, and my sit-bones hurt.  The sit-bones would stop hurting if I rode the bike enough, but not the hands and shoulders.    But for short rides, it can be fun.

Seven miles later, at a ridiculously slow sub-10 mph, we made it home.  No flats, only one minor crash for Monkey2, and zero traffic.  Maybe, just maybe, I will start doing the Gate 2 road ride.  It's just a little bit longer, and the roads are generally in better condition than those in the neighborhood.  It would be good to get back on the bike again, even if it is just for 10-20mi rides.