The commuter bike that once again represents the simple freedom of riding a bike.
There are very few experiences as incredible as riding a bike; the wind in your face, the sensation of generating speed under your own power, the balance of forces that almost magically hold the bike suspended upright. It is the closest we humans will ever come to feeling the miracle of flight; it is the closest we can come to knowing what it must be like to be a bird.
Cycling is my passion, my greatest hobby, my obsession. From a young age, I have been taking it seriously, slowly growing my dependence and interest in life behind bars. It was during the summer when I was eight or so years old that I first set a legitimate training goal, and took to the bicycle as my primary means of summer training. It isn’t a unique story, how the bicycle intervened into a skier’s life and somehow took over, but the point is that I hardly recall a time in my life that the bicycle didn’t hold some enormous meaning for me.
Before I became a Cyclist as a pre-teen, I learned to ride a bike on the dirt trails behind my parent’s house. With this acquired skill, my range of travel increased dramatically. I could suddenly meet my friends who lived far enough away that I couldn’t walk there. I could ride to and from school, I could ride to the lake and swim with my friends. The bicycle was simple, carefree. It was freedom.
This is the great paradox of La Vie Velominatus: the more serious and passionate we become, the farther we are from that juvenile pleasure and freedom afforded by the bike. As Velominati, each ride serves a purpose, whether that purpose is to follow a training plan, feed the Good Wolf, or to spend some quality time with ourselves as introverts.
Last weekend, my girlfriend and I whimsically decided to jump on our bikes for a midnight ride around the neighborhood. No helmets, no lights, no plan; just two people riding around, choosing the route on a whim, talking about life, love, and laughing. It was perhaps the first time in more than thirty years that I felt the raw childhood whimsy of riding a bike for its own sake. It was one of my favorite rides, ever.
Cycling is indeed my passion, my hobby, my obsession; I am eternally grateful for the gift it has given me throughout my life. But somehow, I’ve lost the original connection I had to the bike from before I became a Cyclist. I am resolved to rebuild that and continue to indulge in the joyride.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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I've just built up a 'grocery bike' - steel frame, porteur bars, 3 speed SA hub with bar end shifter, dyno front hub, CX file tread tyres and centre pull brakes, big hammer dimpled alu mudguards, square taper DuraAce chainset with flat pedals. Weighs about 15 kgs. Its absolutely perfect for riding to the shop or the climbing wall - comfortable, no worries with lights or water, a bit of gearing if needed, rides silently with the straight chain line and 1/8 chain... Just the gentle 'tick tick tick' of the SA hub. Sweet!
I have an arrangement with a friend who rides a little. We ride together on the understanding that it is a hard ride for her, a recovery one for me. With that understanding, we're good. On Labor Day we did 50kms in Milwaukee. (I'd done 170 kms the day before). Average speed was 20 kmh. It was lovely. Lots of time to look around, and enjoy the pleasure of the ride knowing that time, distance and speed were immaterial.
BTW, that's a sequoia Frank's bike is leaning against.
@wiscot
Sequoia? It's a broadleaf by the looks of the twig. Every tree starts as a seedling but that don't look like one o' these to me......
Can't make out the leaves but more like a Snake Bark Maple or a Maple of some sort.
I can clearly remember allowing myself to be dropped on a club ride after a week of max effort training sessions. We were about 30k in, on a sun drenched rolling country road and in a moment of clarity, I sat up, had a good look around and soaked in the serenity. The pain stopped and the joy of rolling through the landscape took over. A great moment. I still like to kick my ass on the bike most of the time but always leave room for the pleasure ride.
On a completely different note, I rode with my daughter for the first time yesterday. She's 12 years old and only just now learned to ride. I know. She had a crash trying to learn when she was 5 or so, split her chin open and totally lost her Mojo. I didn't feel the need to pressure her. I don't think it helped her having a bike mad father. I let her come back in her own time. So when she asked to take her brother's bike out a couple of months ago I was secretly glowing. Yesterday she smiled the whole way around a tricky little 10k circuit. There sure is nothing like it. Unfettered joy.
@MrBirchum
It's already been done.
@Teocalli
Ahhh . . . my attempt at humor fails again! I was trying to gently point out the rather large size of Frohnk's frame and massive seatpost by suggesting the bike made a sequoia look puny.
I'll get me coat . . .
@MangoDave
Just to be pedantic, but shouldn't the bars be viewed from the opposite side?
@wiscot
Ahhh - Bollocks - Maybe I should change my tag to @Sheldon.