Bicycling, Day Two
In my continuing effort to become as liberal and crunchy as humanly possible, I bought a bike yesterday. It’s nothing Lance Armstrong would stop flirting with beautiful women to look at, but it’s not a beater either. It’s just a good bike.
My goals for each day moving forward:
- Get a little exercise.
- Save a little gas.
- Take up a little less parking space.
- Spend a little more time enjoying my lovely neighborhood and city.
I’ve already discovered a happy parallel between computing and biking: there are lots of peripherals and bling that you can buy. Thus far, I’ve sprung for:
- A u-lock with cable
- A tire pump
- Saddlebags (which have shoulder straps and are awesome for small-scale grocery shopping)
I was surprised the bike didn’t come with a kick-stand. Apparently no self-respecting biker uses a kick-stand anymore. And, it hasn’t been a big deal not having one so far.
Other than the odd rented bike at the beach, I haven’t ridden bikes much as an adult. In fact, I haven’t owned a bike to call my own since elementary school. Two days in, here are my thoughts:
- My butt hurts. A lot. I am told this will get better with more biking experience. I hope this is true.
- When I ride the bike, I feel a bit like a kid again. There are few things you can do as an adult that can really make you feel like a kid again. It’s great. I don’t remember my butt hurting as a kid, though.
- As someone who usually gets no physical exercise at all, the biking feels good physically too. Every little bit of cardio helps!
- I’m truly seeing and appreciating my surroundings and the people in them a lot more than when I drive my car. It’s nice being able to say hello and smile at people rather than having a car horn and hand gestures be my only means of communication while traveling.
Wish me luck and no broken bones as my biking adventures continue!
