There is something going on in my life that I haven’t blogged about yet. There are a lot of things in my life I don’t blog about. This one thing is exciting. I don’t know why I haven’t mentioned it. For the last couple weeks, everyday (almost), I have been cycling to work on my (previously my fathers) red-communist bike. Well I have some thoughts from the trials and tribulations of cycling. I have a love/hate relationship with cycling and cyclists.
Before I biked to work, I walked. The definite downside to walking is that no matter how fast you walk you really can’t make up any time. If I am five minutes behind schedule, I will be five minutes late (if I am walking). However, if I am biking and five minutes late, I can still arrive minutes early, with plenty of time to spare because, simply, I can push it and make up time. This is definitely a huge pro for biking. Especially since I am usually running late.
A con. Personally, I don’t enjoy biking. Leah, on the other hand… I don’t think I have ever seen her smile more—aside from our wedding day—than when she was riding a bike the other night. If you asked me to go roller blading, skiing, jogging, anything, I would rather do it. But that’s not a huge con. It’s just a personal quirk. I better add in another personal con for some extra weight. I have a huge head. I am not just talking about my ego here. It’s a fact. I got a big noggin. This directly impacts the size of helmet I have to wear. To make it worse the name of the style of helmet I had to buy is Atlas. I bet all the guys at the bike helmet factory were having a good time with that one. Bastards.
Calgary is a poorly planned city. I suppose it’s a very western idea to have space and to spread like some sort of biblical plague. Maybe humanity is the last of God’s/Moses’ plagues? At least western humans. No one wants to build up, just out. Thus the downtown core is a nightmare because everyone has to drive in from suburbia. Not to mention this is a booming city and there is construction everywhere and most of the streets are limited or completely shut down and so driving is just… stupid. Sorry drivers of Calgary. However, a bicycle can go pretty much anywhere that a car can’t, plus there are nice paths along the Bow River.
Bikes going anywhere and everywhere has its downsides. It’s makes Calgary a prime city for bike delivery people. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think bike couriers are amongst the deadliest people out there. They are the only cowboys left in Calgary. But they are cowboys and don’t always/ever follow the rules of the road:
- #1 Bicycles are vehicles, not pedestrians.
- #2 Bikes need to follow the same rules as cars.
- #3 Bike couriers should shower, from time to time.
- #4 Cars — don’t hate bikes because they are better. Don’t hit them for funsies.
I guess the point I am attempting to make is that couriers breed a certain contempt against bikers amongst the general populous. Which in turn makes me, the biker but non-courier (even though I have a pannier), have to deal with a certain amount of biker-hate.
Side story. I was saw a shouting match between a courier and a car. It was funny. I think the bike cut the car off. I think the car then threw a slurpee at the courier.
All in all, I am happy to ride my bike. I wouldn’t want to drive. I don’t really want to walk. I rode through rain yesterday and snow this morning. I think I might need beefier tires to make it through the winter, but that’s a road I will cross (good pun) when I get to it. Lastly, if you are a pedestrian and you hear me ringing my bell when I am about to pass you, be kind, get out of my way.
I am getting my 6 year old bike tuned up and it is costing me $300, which I think is about half the price I bought it for. I guess that’s not bad considering the age of the thing.
You and I should go for a bike sometime . . . Once this bloody snow clears! There are some really nice paths that lead to ice cream stores and other things! I know you’d hate to go biking, but maybe you and your big head could learn to enjoy the Zen of speed!
I don’t know if you could keep up with me though . . . I’m pretty fast.
Hey, I like bike couriers, at least a couple of them (Tim Sampson)
Do you wear bike clothes? If so, are they tight, bright, and smelly? They should be!
BTW, this red-communist bike . . . Is it, like, a town bicycle that gets around? It that why it is so fun to ride? Obviously both you and Leah are riding this thing . . .
. . .
I LOVE BIKING!!!!!
“The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.” -John Howard
“The sheer humanity of the machine: It uses the right muscles (those of the thighs, the most powerful in the body) in the right motion (a smooth rotary action of the feet) at the right speed (60-80 revolutions per minute).” -Stuart S. Wilson
“To sweep down hills and plunge into valley hollows; to cover as on wings the far stretches of the road ahead and to find them in bloom at your approach.” -Alain Fournier (on cycling)
“Cars are all right on occasion, but they are not moments of grace, as bicycles are.” -Colman McCarthy
“Just as the ideal of classic Greek culture was the most perfect harmony of mind and body, so human and a bicycle are the perfect synthesis of body and machine.” -Richard Ballantine
“Men build bridges and throw railroads across deserts, and yet they contend successfully that the job of sewing on a button is beyond them. Accordingly, they don’t have to sew buttons.” -Heywood C. Broun
“When man invented the bicycle, he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man’s convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.” -Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills
I like this: Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.
I don’t understand what the buttons have to do with anything. I know how to sew buttons.
We should go roller blading Leif!
I’d like to suggest that gender-inclusive language be employed on this web-site. Rhett – you don’t really know how to sew buttons … come on & tell the truth!
It’s true. I do love biking. I have been wanting a bike ever since Rhett acquired his dad’s. I didn’t really think it would happen, although I begged Rhett constantly to make room in our budget for one. Then, a miracle. My friend Sarah happened to have a dusty bike in her basement that she never ever used. I mentioned in passing to her my desire to somehow get a bike and two seconds later I had one, er, have one. It’s awesome.
Although, the brakes squeal terribly. It’s kind of, actually, really embarrassing. Any way to fix this?
I know my technical explanations usually don’t succeed but I’ll try. Squealing brakes can be sometimes fixed by replacing the pads or they have to be adjusted by a smart bicycle mechanic. The squealing is caused by air trapped between the brake pad and the rim (think of those farting sounds you made as a kid by squeezing your cupped hand under your armpit – same principle!). The pads can be adjusted so the air doesn’t get trapped and hence not squeal. And no Rhett I am not making this up, one of the whiz kids at Dutch Cycle fixed my brakes one time and explained the problem.
Dad: :laugh_tb:
Mom: I do know how to sew a button. You don’t know everything about me.
You can get really cheap bike pads at MEC and can usually adjust them very easily with an allen key, you could try angling the pads so the front touches first, test, and then try the back of pad compressing first, its worth a try!! Or simply get a bell (mandatory in Calgary?) and use your heels.
I also have trouble with buttons, but I need to learn quick in order to alter my Kilt (ladies plaid skirt value village – golf attire for the busy golf tourney season)!
I just had to get in on this bicycle talk. I just got a new (used) bike here and have been cycling like a madwoman all around downtown Toronto. It’s such a thrill to dodge between cars and streetcars and buses. What narrow passages between moving and parked vehicles can I navigate? I really hope my mom doesn’t read this…I’m sure she’d be impressed
I know I am. I love biking…even in downtown Toronto (maybe especially).
Yikes! That sounds really scary to me, Laura. You are a brave woman. I grew up on a farm. I was on my bike all the time – but on gravel roads and around the farm, no traffic. I am still scared to ride in traffic in the city. I think I will be sticking to bike paths.
And thanks for the advice Doug and Curtis. Rhett and I will be fiddling with my brakes this weekend!
I fiddled. Didn’t help. I think some new, bigger brake pads are in order. I did, however, get real dirty and swore a lot.