The start of something March 23, 2008

After much convincing, soul-searching, and psyching up, I walked in to REI today and bought myself…a bicycle.

Starting very soon, probably this week (!!!),  I’m going to be riding to work.  It’s not that big of a deal.  It’s only a three-mile commute.  I spent all of last summer walking back and forth; I’m enamored with the greenbelt that runs pretty much from my door to the station.  So what if I have a bad day at work?  On the way home, I get to be around nature!

The bike thing was a big hurdle, though. I didn’t think I could do it.  I still have my doubts sometimes.  The last time I was on a bike was when I was 12 years old; I would ride my secondhand BMX around the neighborhood.  I’ve never really had to deal with gears or hand brakes or any of that newfangled high-tech stuff.  Besides, it’s dangerous.  Most of the “auto vs. cyclist” accidents we run on end up with the cyclist being hauled emergent to the trauma center.  And all of the bike commuters (all the cyclists in general, not counting kids) I know of are WAY more hardcore than I am.  These are people who will ride 30, 50, even 100 miles in a day just for fun.

But after consulting my (hardcore cyclist) twin brother and my husband and the internet, I’ve finally made the leap of faith and bought a bicycle.  So one of the many subplots of my life (does it even have a main plot? i don’t think so) will now be the story of some n00b attempting to become a somewhat-serious bicycle commuter.