My bike story [Unmiserable Cleveland]


My bike story

Remember when you were a kid and you rode your bike everywhere? Well, some of us never stopped.
I grew up a swimmer and started triathlons when I was 12 years old. By the time I was 14, I swore I’d never bother to drive. I was an athlete with no time for cars!
Well, that was a lie.
Two years I was infatuated with my power to operate a motor vehicle. Oh, the speed. Oh, the convenience. Oh, the 99 cents a gallon! Then we fell out of love. I walked places, started running, learned public transit like the back of my hand. Nothing beat my pedals.
I bought a crappy bike that trudged me everyplace I needed to go and worked my bike-healthy ass off to buy a better one. I got back into racing, started winter-riding and ditched cars for about seven of the past 10 years.
Commuting to work wasn’t easy at first; now it’s second nature. Ever gone grocery shopping by bike? Try it. Live too far from life to bike there? Move, already. I did.
The crowning moment of my cycling life, however, came last year, when I had Blazing Saddle Cycle custom-build my commuting roadster. Personal treat to myself. But what seemed like an indulgence has been one of my best investments.
It’s lightweight and speedy, like my racer, but less nimble, more stable for all-season riding. Who knew you could fall in love with a bike? It’s nothing slick and stylish, like so many of the rad rides that come out of that place. Something tells me James and Travis knew this chick doesn’t get cute with her cycling.
I’ve ridden it on the hottest and stickiest of days, through torrential downpours, wicked windstorms and every snowfall. It’s my Silver and I’m the Lone Ranger. We’re in this together.
They say that to ride through weather you have to trust your bike. I do, I do. Bike life is a commitment. Clothes — from cycling jerseys to dainty skirts — get mucked with bike grease from on-the-spot fixes (your mom learns to accept it) and tune-ups feel like a day at the spa. And when you come home from wintry rides, your bike gets shower dibs because street salt just bites.
Sure, cycling-for-life requires some extra planning. Especially when you have a big-kid job and there are suits, dresses and nice shoes to wear. But what doesn’t? Since I was little, it’s the only thing that’s promised to get me from here to there and meant it. And as I’ve gotten older and life, more complex, I’ve found that, indeed, I have no time for cars.

Comments

  1. The bike in the image reminded me of my childhood. Thanks, keep posting :)

    Aseako

    ReplyDelete

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