What this blog is about

Bicycle commuting, bicycle touring, bicycle racing; bicycle ADVENTURING.
To the grocery store, up a mountain, across the country or to the finish line--
it's all an adventure.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

It's not always peaches

Whilst reading and writing bike blogs, it can be a bit too easy to wax on about riding bikes as all peaches and pie.

Oh, bike riding is so wonderful! It's so easy! So fast! You can stop and smell the roses! It's so fun! It brightens my day!

and blah, blah, blah..

but let's be real-- sometimes--

sometimes it kinda sucks.



Sometimes, you wake up extra early in the morning so that you have time to put on studded tires so that you can ride the icy roads to get to your bus stop to get to work.

While installing a tire, you pinch the tube, causing a flat. You patch it, get on with it, and ride out the door only to discover that your rushed job didn't hold.

In desperation, you grab a can of instant-flat-fix, only to let half the can foam everywhere. A third of the can finally goes in the tire. The tire pressure is low, but rideable.

About a mile down the road-- you realize that a third of a can of foam isn't going to cut it. You're flatting again and not even halfway to the bus.

You ride the flat, until finally jumping off to scamper onward-- pushing, shuffling, running. You're overdressed and sweating, worrying- will I catch my bus?

And you finally get there-- only to discover that the bus arrives 15 minutes later than anticipated. Huh.

..

And somehow, even on a crap ride such as that--

it still makes me happy.



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