Happy Valentines Day -- to the bicycle!
Don't you just love the bicycle? The way you hunch your back and grip the handle bars in exhiliration as you speed down hills and around corners? The sense of pride you get as you advance from sweaty, struggling, out-of-shape peddler to fit and enraptured sightseer? Or how about the ability to stop and chat with a neighbor without hogging up the street or having to turn off and open anything? You don't have to curse under your breath at the high gas prices or sit in a line of traffic.
I was thinking about my bicycle sitting out on the patio and couldn't let the day pass without giving it some love.
I purchased my bike -- nothing too fancy -- early last year as part of my transition into a more sustainable, slower-paced lifestyle (not too slow now afer having a baby). 
I had not owned a bicycle before then since my early years of high school and at that time I viewed it as a way to kill some time outdoors and get a little exercise. I spent three of my years of high school in Mira Mesa, San Diego. There, I could walk or bike to school, to work, to the mall, to the movies and grocery store. In retrospect, I realize the city was very pedestrian-friendly. When I moved back to Jacksonville, N.C., I had to rely much more on the car. I took cabs to work and only rode my bike in the neighborhood (a lot of it being cul-de-sacs). Most of the time my bike stayed in the garage.
Now I live in western Greensboro and even when it warms up, my husband and I will find it difficult to ride our bikes from our apartment. We live off a bike-lane-less busy five-lane street and less than a half-mile from an I-40 interchange. I just don't want to get run over.
I won't be sneaking off to any afternoon rendezvous with my bike anytime soon, so my husband doesn't have to be jealous. But the next place we move definitely has to be bike-friendly. Bike lanes would be best and proximity to stores and such better.
What do you love about your bicycle?
Comments (2)
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Isn't it frustrating to be stuck living in a place where you have to drive to get things?
That's how I felt where Jamie and I lived in High Point. There was a convenience store we could walk to, but to get to anything else required crossing two busy thoroughfares.
It's nice now to live in a neighborhood where we can walk to nearby shops.
Posted on February 17, 2008 9:42 PM
Isn't it frustrating to be stuck living in a place where you have to drive to get things?
That's how I felt where Jamie and I lived in High Point. There was a convenience store we could walk to, but to get to anything else required crossing two busy thoroughfares.
It's nice now to live in a neighborhood where we can walk to nearby shops.
Posted on February 17, 2008 9:43 PM