To Boldly Go where No One has gone . . .

OUTER SPACE ONE

“Welcome to my OUTER SPACE Blog where I share ideas and personal experiences even some art and writing samples.”

This is a place and space I’d never been in -- doing something I’d never done before. I was in a small park in Queens last Sunday. I was with my older sister, my younger brother and my grandnephew. It is fascinating because of what we were about to do there. We went to teach my 18-year-old grandnephew to ride a bike for the first time in his life, but I was also learning how to ride an e-bike which I had never done before.

It was an odd kind a park it had a huge ball field in fact most of it was a soccer / baseball field with a track that wrapped around it the track was huge the length and width of the ball field. My nephew had training wheels which he scoffed at having but eventually he realized he needed them. I had this new 16” e-bike that I had never ridden before hence the OUTER SPACE part. The bike had 3 settings -- pedal [which is like a normal bike], pedal assist [where you get a small kick from the motor] and throttle [which means the bike is completely running on electricity]. I initially got the bike to get some exercise without going all out or for a long distance and not having enough power or energy to get back home under my own steam.

Well I fell on my tush 2 times. I didn’t hurt anything but my pride. My doctor had warned me that biking in NYC might not be that safe which is why I was in the park and not on the street. And my sister had sent me an article about how Simon Cowell of American Idol fame had bought one of these and broke his back. So, I was sufficiently primed and a bit scared to try this bike out. Not the pedaling portion of it but the Pedal Assist and Throttle. To be honest the pedal assist was more than enough.

The bike is a FIIDO D2 a European made bike with a pedal assist -- that’s how I fell the 2nd time – I couldn’t get the hang of the assist part – pushing down on the pedal propelled the bike forward quite a bit. I could see how Cowell might have hurt himself but little did I know this bike has a safety feature so the bike can’t fly out from under me completely which is what happened to him. But the disc brakes are another thing entirely – with them you can stop on a dime. But you have to be prepared to do so – I was not -- at least once coming down the path to the tall grass where my sister and brother were perched. I was cruising around that track having a great time – I definitely felt like I was part of the bike and the track.

It was like having the wind at your back even when you’re going up a hill you don’t feel it even though your pedaling. Anyway I was flying I came to the area where we had a little picnic going and just after I hit the grass I slammed on the brakes – The bike stopped but I kept moving – now I know you have to ease them on – but all in all I had a great time.

I learned a very important lesson. 1 - Your sense of balance changes as you get older – that’s how I fell the 1st time. 2 - Only go by my own experiences although people warning me did make me more cautious and that was a good thing. In the end – all that really got hurt like I said before was my pride and a little scrape on my knee. But I am very happy with my purchase and feel that it will aptly suit my plan to become more fit. In a way where I work smarter not harder. I will still get in quite a bit of exercise – The next day I felt all the pedaling I had done but I wasn’t as sore as I would have been w/o the pedal assist, but I still feel like I got a workout.

I circled that big track at least 4 times. Working up quite a sweat. The space was perfect for what we were all trying to do there. My sister wanted some air & to help her grandson to do something outside and not just sit at home with his video games. My brother Mark is newly retired, and he just wanted to do something fun with his family now that he’s not working all the time. We took turns on the e-bike. I needed to test out my e-bike in a safe place. We all got what we needed out of the experience and I’m glad I didn’t do it alone – if only because I needed someone to help me up when I fell. LOL