proteanme

Ever since I bought my new bike, I get so much more play from the bike mechanics. It almost always starts with “how do you like your Surly”, and from there it’s not unusual to be on the listening end of some crazy touring story about riding to California with one pannier or riding from Washington to Canada with a fanny pack.

I do think I’m sliding into some serious bike geekiness, something I think I mentioned earlier, because I’m trying to figure out if I can swing buying a back-up bike, especially after seeing this Raliegh.

Ok, I’m being dramatic. I didn’t really almost get clipped on the way home, but I had a guy try to turn right on me from my left side as I was moving into the left lane and a woman on her fucking cell phone abruptly swerve in and out of the bike lane about 6 feet in front of me. This was after getting my 5th flat since October, leaving me to walk about 16 blocks in the pouring rain to spend another $50 on a better tire and a new tube, something I just did that yesterday for the back tire. Oh, and I wiped out on some train tracks where DOT has diverted the multi-use path I use to go back and forth to work.

On the very soggy walk to REI to fix my flat, I was indulging in anger and indignation, but I did try for a moment to empathize with all the folks who were out there in this miserable shit, without any raingear or a bike they could afford to get fixed and ride back to their homes. Homeless folks, runaways and addicts trying to score. I had about 2 minutes of compassion.

I really should say clipless even if it doesn’t make sense to the lay person, because the bike shoes that actually clip into the their pedals are called clipless shoes. I think it has something to do with distinguishing this technology from the old toe clips and straps. Anyway, I’m now attaching my feet to my bike and I rode around a bunch yesterday without falling over. Looks like I’m off to a good start. This is all part of my intention to extend my riding from work days to at least one day on the weekend.

I love riding my bike at night, if it’s not too cold or too windy or too rainy. It’s easy to get off the busy streets and ride on the quiet ones. Look at the sky, which always seems hopeful when the clouds lift a little. Ride through the wet leaves and pass the porch lights.  Turn the corner by the pizza place down the street still packed in its last hour, then ride by the cool kids outside Beulah Land.  The green light delivers me almost home. The familiar is feeling sublime.

That’s right I need a rim job. Tonight I was riding home from my neighborhood bike store where I’d gone to repair the 2nd flat my back tire has suffered in just two weeks when I was hit by a car. Its fucked up. It was the drivers’ fault, and she was nice considering she had just run into the back of my bike, bending my back tire rim to where it won’t even roll. That’s the obvious damage. I don’t want to go in to any other details here. Paranoia about insurance, injuries, etc. I just called my mom in tears. Right now I’m grateful to be alive and super aware of how fragile we bike riders are when matched with a couple tons of steel and some serious horse power.