Today I rode my bike to work (“new” (to me) bike purchased for $15 at a garage sale last weekend). I think that the last time I rode a bike was in 1974 or so. The truism is true – one doesn’t forget how to ride a bike – but I’m a little wobbly and unsure.
When did cycling get so snobby and high-tech? B. and I stopped in a bike shop in Uptown last Saturday to inquire about tire pumps: the cheapest one was $30 and the clerk was having a fantasy about his next “ride” and wasn’t really interested in being helpful. Clothes; accessories; high-level maintenance: it’s all too 20th century and precious. One used to get on a bike and push the pedals with the aim of getting from point A to point B. Now cycling has become like skiing used to be: it’s all about the gear.
Yeah, I used to walk to school, a few leagues away, uphill in both directions, major drifts. Please excuse my curmudgeonliness.
Whereas it takes me 24 minutes (oh, I’m nothing if not precise!) to walk to school, it takes about 10 minutes to bike. It would be shorter but for all the traffic signals. I am not comfortable enough yet to be a scofflaw and cruise through the reds, so I “waste” a lot of time at red lights. Ah – the wind in my (short) hair; the click of the rear wheel encountering an encumbrance; my sandal (what!? No bike shoes!?) hitting the derailleur: it’s all about speed. Or, at least, my low-speed version thereof. You would not think that the savings of 15 minutes (or a half-hour per day) would be so significant, but psychologically they are.
My sister, when we used to ski, would urge me on: “Speed is your friend.” Terminally cautious, having lost my nerve at an early age, I’d visualize head-on collisions with trees (think of that Kennedy) and slowplow my way down the slope. Even now, I sometimes dream at night of steep ski-slopes beyond my ability – and hope I can control the snowplow in my dreams. Speed, indeed! Who won – the tortoise or the hare?
Your bike shop experience reminds me of nearly every backpacking trip I take. Gear-heads everywhere that are more interested in comparing packs and shoes and tents than they are in breathing in the air of the woods. I learned a long time ago to frequent the trails that no one else uses...
Posted by: Vera at June 16, 2004 01:19 PM