Shakedown

“Where you going?”
“To the store.”
“For what?”
“Coffee.”
“On your bike?”
“Yep.”
“Cool.”

This little reinforcing exchange with my 12 year old son cemented my commitment to ride instead of drive wherever I could. I recognize that I can’t completely get rid of my car, but I can keep it parked for much more than I drive it. And this short 1 mile trip to the store to get coffee was my way to start.
I’m nervous about the attempt to bike to work tomorrow. My Bike is a 15 year old Gary Fisher hard tail mountain bike, and is not in great working order. I haven’t done a great job caring for it. It’s rusted and squeaks a lot and I think the rear hub is about through. The front derailleur hasn’t worked in a while, so I have only been able to stay on the middle chain ring, which turned my 21 speed into a 7. I took the bike to my friend’s house today where we discovered the problem was a front derailleur spring that was so rusted, it was frozen. A little pushing and pulling, and a few squirts of lubricant, and I had 21 gears restored, though I’m skeptical they will stay with me for the whole ride tomorrow. I’m getting old too, and a little rusty. I’m not out of shape necessarily, but I’m not really conditioned for this ride. I’m not a cyclist. In fact while I respected bicyclists I saw on the street, I always thought they were a little off for being out there, with the cars. I haven’t ever biked 25 miles. My thighs screamed after the first hill out of my driveway, and I worried about how I was going to get through the big intersection at route one. Maybe the decision to start to ride to work tomorrow is a bad one.
But my ride this morning added to my conviction, and gave me more reasons to bike to work. I am more exposed to my community when I ride. I saw a gold finch, morning glory and my neighbor. Once I was removed from my plastic and steel pod, my community became accessible and opportunities to connect became abundant. I said “good morning” to my neighbor as I rode by. She tried to turn away as I passed as usual and I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see her as often happens from inside a car. We had to acknowledge each other, and connect. I think I’ll head out at 6 tomorrow morning. That should get me through the 25 miles and to work by 8.