For the first time in my life, I have a bike! My parents never wanted me to bike or skate or skateboard, and they never bought any of us a bike. So now that we don’t have a car yet, we bought everybody bikes. Mine and Paula’s are brand new, but bought on clearance, of course. We saved about $100 on mine.
We also bought a bike seat for Anton. He loves biking! All five of us biked to Optimist Park this afternoon. It was cooler than usual and very pleasant.
My bike has huge wheels and 21 gears. I’d never used a bike with gears before. In fact, my first choice was a classic women’s bike with huge handlebars and no gears. I figured I didn’t need gears, and I just loved how it looked (I don’t know anything about bikes, so I choose them based almost solely on price and looks). Unfortunately (or fortunately?) that bike was special ordered by another customer and I couldn’t buy it.
Well, when we went up a little hill this afternoon, I soon learned the importance of gears (and how to use them). This bike is so easy to use that I don’t think I’m getting any exercise at all. I don’t even feel Anton’s added weight until I slow down or stop.
Isay also likes riding with Anton, but I don’t let her do it on the street — too big a responsibility.
In a future post, I will write about how I learned to bike anyway and how the lack of a bicycle in my childhood affected my entire life (you’ll be surprised just how).
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Lec, I am eagerly awaiting your piece about the lack of a bicycle in your childhood. Unlike you and Marivic, I never learned to bike and regret it to this day.
ariba mamalexi, ariba!!!!