Oh my goodness.I have a new bicycle.
It's a girls' bike with fat tires. (The last time I had a girls' bike, I was ten. I bought my first 10 speed when I was in my teens and it had the boys' bar..I was no sissy.) And now, here I am, once again sitting upright on my cushy seat. I have baskets to carry things and mud flaps. I feel like a kid. I ride on sidewalks. I ride through grass. I need a bell. I don't wear my helmet all the time. I am so cool.
Bikes have always been a part of my life. One summer in Kalamazoo, it was my only transportation to work and college. I loved not having to find parking spots and trying different streets and going places no car had ever gone before. I don't remember sweat or rain or flat tires. I loved my bike.
Maybe the reason I married Cal - besides the fact that he liked to cook - was that he rode a bike too. Bikes have been part of our marriage. In fact, being able to ride a tandem with a happy spirit has become our test of a good marriage. I'm sure you've heard that wall papering can be hard on marriages. Well, so can tandems.
Thanks to Marty (our bike guy) and Cal, I ride the newest model of Treks 7000. I wanted the bike to look like a 1950's model, but I also wanted the 21 gears...and this works. It's black and silver. I wanted red - there's just something about a red bike, but tandem riding also teaches you compromise.
And my rack...WOW. I was thinking perhaps some wire baskets on the back, but nowadays you have these removable canvas bags that can hold gallons of milk. Amazing. I unhook my bags, load up at the grocery store and hook them back on the bike. I'm ready to go. No paper or plastic. Look, mom! I'm GREEN.
Br-r-r-r-ring.
An update on house hunting. I found my dream house in Des Moines. It's tiny and needs about 20,000 dollars of work. It's more of a cottage than a house...but I will hold it lightly. The timing is way off. We continue to make progress on getting our current house up to snuff. Last weekend it was the back yard and now we are ready for the new deck to be built. As much as I dread selling this house, it's nice to think of a dream house waiting for me. Patience, Mary, Patience.
Stay tuned for the very BEST time of year. Fall.
Love,
Mary
4 comments:
Yes, you do have a cool bike - has me thinking that I should try biking again. But having been raised on a farm, bikes weren't as much fun-riding "around" the block was four miles long and dusty. Not such fond memories for me.
Rosa
Wow!I'm so jealous...of the bike and the fact that you can bike to the grocery store. I 'spose I could but the milk would be buttermilk by the time I got back home.
I quit biking over to B's. It just didn't seem wise to link something that I want to enjoy forever, e.g. biking, with all those other emotions.
Glad you found a house to dream about.
Gretchen
I'm on the lookout for a new bike, too. My skinny tire, narrow hard seated days are long gone! I'm leaning towards a cruiser with a tractor type seat. Better to roam in comfort.
I am sad to think of you leaving the best memory I have of Pella..coffee at your house. And I remember when your deck was brand new! Oh, the days. Happy dream home hunting. You have a wonderful eye for the "what could be".
Bike are cheap on gas......................how did you deal with all the hills?
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