the tao of cycling: the back-up bike

Sunday, February 16, 2014

the back-up bike

a year ago john bought me a beautiful new bike.
it's shiny and sleek, black with subtle bright green and white accents. it's light and responsive and shifts like a dream. it has a super lightweight wheel set, and is an all-around fabulous bike. it takes me to incredible places, and tolerates my getting it wet and grimy and gritty.
it's an awesome bike.

then there's my former bike. an awesome bike, itself, with a great wheel set.

when I prepare for a ride, the thought to ride my former bike never even crosses my mind. why would I?

I understand that some people have multiple bikes and choose which one to ride based on road conditions, weather conditions, how long they'll be riding, what their mood is that day.
I just choose the best bike every day.
I don't protect it from elements, hours and hours of work, or questionable road surfaces.
perhaps I should . . . and I'm not being critical of those who make different choices. I only speak for myself.
because when I think about the end of my riding days, I'm pretty sure I won't be caught saying,
gosh, I wish I hadn't ridden my Time bike quite so much. I wish I would have saved it for special occasions. I wish I'd ridden it less.

uh-uh. not going to happen.
I'm quite certain I'll be thinking, thank God I rode that bike so darn much. I'm so glad I loved it, and chose it every time I rode somewhere. I'm grateful for how well it supported me, and all the great experiences it gave me. thank God I rode that bike as much as I did.

so I don't really need a back-up bike. it just grows sad and lonely, and dusty.
because why would I ride anything less than the very best bike I own?
I wouldn't.
just as I drink coffee from my favorite mug, sleep on my favorite sheets, use my favorite towels, and treat myself to favorite treats, I want to ride my favorite bike.
so I do.

life is fragile, every day a gift. I like to make sure I love and am grateful for each day I'm alive, and riding my favorite, most awesome bike is a terrific way to ensure both of those things.

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the Male Ego

The other day I was coming down a canyon in my drop bars (two years ago I would have said, 'what's a drop bar?'), working hard, when I came up on two guys who were also heading downhill but at a more leisurely pace. I passed them, said hello as I did so, and pulled back into the bike lane. a few minutes later they went flying past me, faces looking dead ahead, not a single bit of acknowledgment that I even existed on this planet let alone was involved in and enjoying the same sport they were.
I have to attribute this to the male ego. what else can it be? now I know we all have egos, myself included. and mine even shows its ridiculous little head once in a while, or perhaps more often. but the difference between mine and say, those of certain men on bicycles, is that I KNOW mine exists and I can LAUGH at mine. I know my ego was quite excited to pass those guys, and I could also smile because I knew if the men had really been working like I was, they would have kicked my butt down the hill.
I think I pissed them off.
and I'm sure I will be sharing with you much more of my thoughts about the male ego . . .

a little history

I was married, and I had a mountain bike which I rarely rode. we separated, I moved out, and four months later someone stole my bike. the next spring, 2005, I bought myself a new mountain bike. I rode occasionally, and in april 2006 I rode in my first century, the Cactus Hugger in St. George, Utah. I made it 54 miles on that mountain bike, and it took me about 6 hours. I think that included the rest stops where I prayed that someone would steal my bike again . . .
in june 2006 I started riding my mountain bike five mornings a week, a 45-55 minute loop that was intended to be all about exercise. and what I found was that I loved the quiet, peaceful morning full of bird chatter and barely breaking sunrises. by that fall I was hooked, and began considering the purchase of a road bike. I rode up emigration canyon for the first time that Labor Day of 2006, panting and plowing along on my trusty (heavy) bike, and a month later I was the proud owner of my own road bike: I had become a two-bike girl!
a 17-week-long "power camp" over the winter and a handful of new friends kept bicycling front and center in my life, and when spring of 2007 rolled around I was ready to hit the pavement. I rode my first century the end of april, when I again went to St. George and completed that Cactus Hugger. it took me about 7 hours, but this time I rode the entire 100 miles with about 9300 feet of vertical gain. woo hoo!
I started riding canyons around our area, emigration and millcreek, city creek, big cottonwood, little mountain and big mountain, and once--yes, only once--little cottonwood.
then in september of 2007, I rode from Logan, Utah, to Jackson, Wyoming, in the slightly infamous LOTOJA race. I rode, I did not race. and I completed the thing, crediting my good training buddies, the incredibly perfect weather, my support team, and an amazing convergence of all things positive in the universe.
I put in about 3500 miles last season, and as of today, july 19, 2008, I have about 1700 in, adding to it every day.
I have again signed on to ride the LOTOJA race, and my goal is to have just somewhere near as great a ride as I did last year. oh, and to have someone fun to talk with along the way as I got incredibly bored last year . . . star valley is still a nightmare scene in my biking memories . . .
and here is a picture of the machine that has helped me reclaim my life.