Aaron Leavy: Bike Owner?

So I think that by COB (a fun acronym for politicos out there....close of business) I will have bought and maybe even ridden a bike. If purchased it will be the 3rd bike I've ever owned.

Bike One:

Red, and black. With that great velco-ed padding on the cross bar. As with so many things, I learned in a strange fashion. I tried and tried and tried to learn to ride a bike. Nothing. Then one day...it made sense. I was riding a lot. Later that weekend I was doing tricks. That bike lasted till I was maybe 10. Then enter bike 2.

Bike Two:
Black and silver mountain bike. Maybe 10 or 12 speeds (none of which I used correctly or frequently) all of which seemed to slip and stutter. Surely not the best bike around, but it served me well. It has since been moved to a better place...or more likely a junk heap. Why is it that so often that trite expression is used as code for...we killed or dishonorably dispatched of...some item, be it pet, or bike. Anyway. Bike two was fine for its time, and would invariably get ridden a lot on the days after the last leg of the Tour De France, when I, like so many other young boys decided that biking was a sport I'd be good at. Hell I could bike...how hard could it be. Then 20 minutes later...I'd stop. This pattern also reared its head after Breakfast at Wimbledon. (though, not with the bike, but rather a racquette. sp)

So why bike 3? I live in and around a community of bikers. People bike all the damn time. Just goes with the mandate that everyone here be fit and tan, and outdoorsy. Another factor is I'd like more exercise. I fantasize about returning to normal elevation and dominating at frisbee. But in my fantasy I'm actually training at elevation. In reality, I'm typing to Jen in front of a desk deocrated with empty coke cans while eating bagels. This is not the kind of training I imagine in these heroic dreams of mine. But I think I could like biking. Also, a tertiary reason, but maybe the prime one is that Jen bikes a lot. and I'm guessing, pretty solid reason to believe this assertion, that if I spend any serious time in Seattle...I'll want to join her on these bike rides. There is something appealing about that image. But....the image ceases to be appealing if I carry it forward and think of me walking my bike up a hill while Jen pedal on by. So training is the key. Plus, and this is a good one...when you bike you get to feel morally superior to those people "working for their car." So a bike it is. I've found that you can get those little hanger dealies for the back of the car fairly cheaply, and they will support my oh-so fine new bike (probably a cheap used one).

Futher updates as events warrant.