Go Get a Newspaper. See the World On a Bike!
I do a lot of my bike riding at White Rock Lake, or in that general area. I see a lot of people out there that are wearing spandex, and strange shoes, and riding very expensive, very fast bikes. They seem to be quite focused on their ride. But I always wonder: do they ever just get on their bike and go to the grocery store? Do they commute to work? Do they ever accomplish anything with their ride other than some intense workout?
Don’t get me wrong. One of the main reasons that I ride is to try to stay in decent shape, lose weight, get the old blood pressure down, et cetera.
But I have been on the lovely bike trail at White Rock Lake and watched Red-Tailed Hawks soaring down through the bike trail area, literally over some bicyclists’ head. I have watched Copperhead snakes slither across the trail . I have gotten off my bike and helped a huge turtle get out of the way of the other bicyclists. And nobody slows down or even looks. Seriously: they don’t even look. I don’t get it.
I say, get on your bike and go and run an errand that you would normally accomplish in an automobile. You’ll get some exercise. You’ll accomplish something. You’ll lower the amount of pollution that you would normally spew into the air. And it might just turn out to be a beautiful day, like this morning.
Here is a pic of my new (to me) 1991 Bianchi Sika with my copy of the Dallas Morning News strapped to the back. This particular model Bianchi was originally sold as a mountain bike, but has been converted to a commuter bike by the addition of the fenders, rear rack, new handlebars and narrower, more street-friendly tires. I rode to Walgreen’s this morning, picked up a paper and rode on a big long ride back through Casa Linda to my house. It was beautiful. It made me feel good. People waved at me, and I waved back.
Bianchi Sika Mountain Bike
I’m probably preaching to the choir here. But I’m going to say it anyway: Go get a newspaper. See the World.
-Hubbard
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Amen, brother.
I totally feel you man!!
I’m glad you enjoyed your ride this morning. Raining now!
[...] Wonder of wonders Posted by: WDN on: January 23 2010 • Categorized in: bicycling The good folk over at Pedallas tuned me in to a nifty looking cycling site, Biking In Dallas, today by linking to a recent article of theirs, Go Get a Newspaper. See the World on a Bike [...]
Now that the weather is getting nicer, I never use my car for getting around the neighborhood – as long as I don’t have to get on the highway, I bicycle any and all weekend errands I must do – and quite often the whole family bicycles to dinner out in downtown Plano, just a few blocks away.
Having seen things from both sides of the saddle, I can tell you that yes, alot of the cyclists you see in there spandex glory do ride their bikes for transportation. And for fun. And they do see the world. I’ve recently started to ride a road bike again w/ the funny shoes after about a 6 year lay-off. I’ve returned mostly because there is a 50 year-old fat man looking over my shoulder, but recapturing the elegance of a smooth pedal stroke and the dancing rhythm of climbing a hill is what its all about for me. Its the love of the bike that we all share just in different layers.
This blog is BOSS.
Thanks for all of the nice comments! I actually commuted from my house to my office and back by bike today. I’m whooped! I need to work some of those holiday pounds off, and these lovely north Texas winter days are just the opportunity to do it.