So I got a bike. I'm super excited, but I also feel a bit like I'm in a Choose Your Own Adventure book and I just chose the ending that leads me down a dark path to certain death...and I forgot to mark the last page I was on so I can't cheat.
Anyone who's familiar with my post-driver's license biking history can attest that this isn't that irrational of a fear. Two of my last bike outings ended rather badly - one with me face down in a bush on top of my bike, the other with me face down on the concrete trapped under my bike. Now add riding in traffic to the fact that I haven't been on a bike more than half a dozen times in the five years since the concrete episode, and you'll see why I'm a little afraid of impending death.
But yay, bike!
I'd been thinking about a bike for a while when I heard about the Iowa City Bike Library, which is exactly what it sounds like, provided you think it sounds like a place where you can check out bikes. The Bike Library fixes up donated bikes and lends them out for 6 month periods for a deposit. After the six months you can either return the bike and get your deposit back or keep the bike. Best idea ever. So last Saturday I took the bus downtown and got me a red Univega Nuevo Sport and a youth size bike helmet. It needs a few accessories - headlight, fenders, horn, baseball cards in the spokes - but it rides pretty well. I've ridden downtown and back a few times and have yet to die, and I've been riding to work. I was already walking to work, but now I have an extra five minutes in the morning (which can make the difference in me having a lunch or wearing matching socks) and I can ride to the park for lunch.
Bike!
And don't forget, Bike to Work Week starts May 14.
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