My Bike

My bike must be a bizillion years old.  Or is that a brazillion?  I never can remember.

I don't remember where it came from.  Local legend says that it came from my brother-in-law, Alan.  Is that true?  (Someone wake him up and ask him!)  It's not the prettiest bike in the universe, and certainly not the newest. I mean, the silly thing only has ten speeds.  Do you know how long it's been since bikes went from ten speeds to eighteen or twenty-one?  I don't.  But I think it's been a long time.

I've had this bike since ... sometime in the last century.  (That sounds like a really long time, but it's really only twenty years or so.)  I used to have to have one that I rode to work back when "work" was at the Boeing plant, but that one broke in half one day on my way home, and I had to find another.  Being a  cheapskate, I didn't go out and buy one, because that would've involved spending actual money.  Instead, I got this one.  From someone. 

It's been ridden only occasionally over the last eight years since we moved to Michigan, mostly in the summer.  Because no one rides bikes around here in the winter.  Something about lack of traction in the snow, I think.  Consequently, it has received very little attention, and even less maintenance.  It just works.

This summer, owing to the fact that my Subaru is out of commission, it has seen a lot more use than ever before simply because it has become my primary means of transport between home and work.  And my primary means of getting exercise.  Together, we get a thirty-minute workout in the morning, and another thirty-minute workout in the afternoon.  So it's being used an hour a day, five hours a week.  And, in that time, I've come to notice several "deficiencies".

The seat won't tighten to the frame, so when I sit on it, it rotates.  It's kind of like sitting on a merry-go-round while trying to pedal.  But not nearly as much fun.

The handgrips keep sliding off the handlebars.  I'm not sure why.  They're rubber and should grip firm, but apparently the metal beneath is slick enough that they slide.

The rear derailleur doesn't work correctly.  The first three gears shift too quickly, and the last gear hardly shifts at all.

The pedal bearing grinds.

The chain needs oiling.

The brakes need replacing.

But it works.

And it gets me  to work.

And that's enough.

==

My bike has no rack for carrying things, so I have been forced to improvise a method of carrying my work clothes so I have something to wear once I get to work.

(For some reason, my fellow employees object to my wearing my stinky bicycling clothes all day long at the office.)

I could purchase a bike rack from the bike shop, but that requires money.  (And if I had money, I'd probably get my car fixed so I didn't have to rely on my bike so much.)

Instead, I took this old backpack that the kids weren't using anymore and filled it up with all my clothes and then figured out a way to attach it to the handlebars.

First, I wrap the side straps around the handlebars.

Then I wrap the top strap around the front reflector.

Then I knot the side straps around the handlebars.

Then I push it down to set it in place so it won't shift to one side or the other.


A note: My work shoes must be packed properly so that there is one on each side of the backpack, inside.  As the stiffest parts of my outfit, it is important that they rest on either side of the bike frame so that the backpack maintains its central position on the bike; otherwise, if it falls to one side or the other, it is heavy enough to throw me off-balance.

I'm not sure how ridiculous it looks to the passers-by, but it gets the job done.  Early American Geek Bike Rider.  Complete with ancient styrofoam helmet.

The mesh for the helmet fell off a long time ago.  The guys at work tell me it needs the mesh so that it if it should hit the ground, all the broken little pieces will stay together and thus continue to protect my head.  They're probably right.  But I keep forgetting to get a new helmet when at the store.  Usually my mind is on more important matters, like finding out if ice cream is on sale, or trying to remember where I put the list.   Was it in this pocket, or that one?

(Mostly I get in trouble for purchasing things which were not on the list.)

==

The ride to work is always eventful.  People have forgotten how to deal with bikes, especially in a commercial area.  They have forgotten that bikes have the right-of-way in certain instances.  They have forgotten that it is very dangerous to ride bikes on the road when there is very little or no shoulder, especially when there are tractor trailer rigs flying up and down the road.  They have forgotten that sometimes bike riders have to ride on the sidewalk (if there is one) to avoid being shoved off the road by the bursts of wind from passing trucks.

Then there's those road construction crews who decide that the sidewalk is a good place to park their construction equipment -- as if no one ever uses the sidewalk.

Speaking of which, it would be far easier to get to work if the street on which my work is located actually had a sidewalk.  But it doesn't.  

As you can see from the illustration above (I hope), there are sidewalks (green) along the first two roads I travel; but the third road, the road on which my work is located, does not have a sidewalk.  Which is stupid.  Considering that it is in an industrial area, heavily travelled by tractor-trailer rigs and commercial vans all all kinds of monstrous vehicles.  There is no room for a bike to share the road with those kinds of vehicles.


So I have to ride past the road on which my work is located (via the red lines), cross the busy road at a point where there is a parking lot on the other side, then cruise through several adjoining parking lots -- away from the main road -- to my work building.


It is not the best solution, but it works for now.


All told, it's about five miles.  Thirty minutes or so.  Just enough to get me warmed up for work.  (And hot and sweaty.  Did I mention there are no showers in my building?  Oh, well, at least it cuts down on the cubicle traffic.)


I find it quite exhilarating.