Another day
Another day of commuting. Cold, but easily bearable. High temps look to remain in the 30's and 40's, so I haven't dealt with anything too tough. My goal's to ride through the winter and use the car only on the weekends. Hopefully saying it will keep me going.
I've pretty much settled on my 80's Trek mountain bike as the winter hack. After years of neglect I spent the summer working my way through the basic maintenance. Repacked the bearings, they were pretty sorry. Now that I think about it, it all started in the Spring, replacing the brake pads that had been squealing for at least five years. That made the bike actually rideable. Somehow a Springtime ride around the block turned into this.
A season of biking resulted in the loss of 20 lbs of flabby middle aged gut and much improved endurance. The approach of winter always brings out the pig in me and some of the weight has returned. No matter, I definitely haven't felt this good in years. In case you hadn't noticed, I am self centered. I'd like to think I'm commuting by bike to spare the environment at least a little, to stay in shape, to make a statement. I love moving around the city under my own power. I love the silence of the bike itself. Nah, I have have a pleasurable habit that just happens to have some beneficial side effects.
Final thought. I remember a day, early in the Spring, sitting at a stoplight waiting for a green. I hear a voice saying "excuse me, excuse me" I turn and a lady is leaning out of her car window trying to get my attention. I ask what she wants. She tells me "you're not a car" to which my response was I fully realized that I'm not a car. She goes on to explain that I needed to move to the sidewalk. When I declined, she persisted, saying "are you familiar with the law?". That was enough for me. I explained that in fact I had just read the state statutes a couple a days ago. I stopped listening. She kept pestering. Eventually, the green light released me from this moronic purgatory. Truthfully, I was pissed. I'm sure you all have your stories.
I've pretty much settled on my 80's Trek mountain bike as the winter hack. After years of neglect I spent the summer working my way through the basic maintenance. Repacked the bearings, they were pretty sorry. Now that I think about it, it all started in the Spring, replacing the brake pads that had been squealing for at least five years. That made the bike actually rideable. Somehow a Springtime ride around the block turned into this.
A season of biking resulted in the loss of 20 lbs of flabby middle aged gut and much improved endurance. The approach of winter always brings out the pig in me and some of the weight has returned. No matter, I definitely haven't felt this good in years. In case you hadn't noticed, I am self centered. I'd like to think I'm commuting by bike to spare the environment at least a little, to stay in shape, to make a statement. I love moving around the city under my own power. I love the silence of the bike itself. Nah, I have have a pleasurable habit that just happens to have some beneficial side effects.
Final thought. I remember a day, early in the Spring, sitting at a stoplight waiting for a green. I hear a voice saying "excuse me, excuse me" I turn and a lady is leaning out of her car window trying to get my attention. I ask what she wants. She tells me "you're not a car" to which my response was I fully realized that I'm not a car. She goes on to explain that I needed to move to the sidewalk. When I declined, she persisted, saying "are you familiar with the law?". That was enough for me. I explained that in fact I had just read the state statutes a couple a days ago. I stopped listening. She kept pestering. Eventually, the green light released me from this moronic purgatory. Truthfully, I was pissed. I'm sure you all have your stories.
posted by Jim at Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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