Breaking out the bike
May 25th, 2008 ecoliI need to save money on gas and I need exercise, so I’m planning on killing two birds on two wheels.
Since I haven’t biked seriously since I was much smaller, probably middle school, my bike would be too small, if it hadn’t already been thrown out. I could buy a new one, but my parents have two older bikes hanging up in the shed that I figured I would try out… you never know, they might not be in that bad shape.
Back in the magical year of 1983, my parents were married and bought semi-matching bicycles for themselves (or perhaps they were gifts). At any rate, like everything built before the 1990s, it seems as if the bikes were built to last.
On one of the bikes, the chain was stuck between the gear and the frame, but that was easily fixable. The kickstand is a little wobbly, but the breaks will certainly have to be replaced.
The other bike is in better shape. I tightened the kickstand on that bike, adjusted the seat and handlebars. The brakes are in good condition and the gear shift works properly. I’m not sure when the tires or tubes were last replaced, but presumably it wasn’t that long ago. I filled them up and there doesn’t seem to be any leaks.
The latter bike was my dad’s. I prefer it to the other one because of the nice blue color, its in better condition (relatively speaking) but mostly because of the brandname. It’s called “Soma.” Who doesn’t want to ride a bicycle named after the mind altering drug from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World?
I didn’t feel like taking pictures for this post, but it seems as if this guy on Craig’s list has almost exactly the same bike:
My original estimate was that the trip to my lab was about 10 miles, which I guess would take about an hour. However, I mapped out the route on google maps, and it’s only a 7.6 mile trip, which I think is doable with some training.
I timed myself on a 2 mile trip, up and down my street, and it took me 11 minutes and 47 seconds. I figure that it will take 45 min to an hour to make the trip, depending on how tired I am.
I’m thinking I should train for at least a week before I attempt the trip for real. I’m an out-of-shape nerd, and after 2 miles today, I definitely felt my legs cramp up a bit (though not as bad as I was expecting). I also need to get used to riding with a backpack on.
I need to invest in a water bottle holder for the bike as well as review mirror. It can be quite disconcerting relying on hearing alone to guess when a car is going to pass, and only a small part of the route has sidewalks.
Certain things I’m going to have to get used to; making sure my work doesn’t suffer because of the longer travelling time, (and along the same lines) getting used to dealing with leg cramps at work, eating more calories (this might get just as expensive as using my car for this reason!), bringing a change of clothes, or at least a shirt, with me so my colleuges don’t kick me out… or at least subject me to the emergency shower!
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