I tend to ride my bicycle to work often when I don’t have too much crap to lug with me. It’s roughly 3.5 miles one way. I also try to ride my bike for errands and the like. I’m not what one would describe as a health nut. No. I’m not what one would call an avid cyclist. Nope. I don’t do this for any of those reasons and I don’t really get into the “super hero” outfits one must where while hanging out in front of the local coffee roaster next to your $5000 bicycle while drinking a double latte and checking your cell phone for messages that aren’t there. Nope. I’m also not riding my bike out of some deep consciousness about the environment and protesting gas prices though, I won’t lie to you those do play into it as well. No, I ride because I am a fat American. I am out-of-shape and worthless. Since the last winter with the two and a half months of rain in the most biblical of proportions followed by an almost nonexistent swell (yes, I am a surfer) I have let myself go this past year to where I resemble somewhere between Jabba the Hut and Ann Wilson of the rock group Heart.
I used to be an athlete. I was a ball player on a very high, competitive level. I was a hyper-active surfer/skater and I still am…in a sense. Well minus the hyper-active part….er….and minus the active part more so these days. So now I ride a bike. It’s a real good bike, too. It’s mostly made from carbon fiber and titanium. I paid a lot for it when it was on sale and I have been told by my buddy, cyclist extraordinaire; Edmundo Vasquez that the bike I bought is the number one commuter bike today. I had no clue of that when I bought it but I guess I’m glad I did.
Since riding my bike I have noticed that I use my truck a lot less which, in turn means that I am buying less gas, which in turn means that I am polluting less as well as doing my part in less traffic, which in turn means that I am NOT supporting Bush and his cronies which is a GREAT thing to NOT be supporting! On top of all of that I am getting (slowly…oh, so slowly) back into shape. The only drag is that I have to plan and manage my time better for biking. Okay, one thing at a time.
I’ve come to appreciate bicycling and I wish that more people would consider this great option to driving to work. Oh, I hear some of my friends complain that they have to leave earlier, or it’s too far or too hard or they’ll be all sweaty when they get to work and don’t want to bring along work clothes, etc. Talk about selfish with the environment! Oh, speaking of selfish and environment; when a swell kicks in you bet that I’ll be back at one of my local spots…I just better not see any of you there. Now, go bike to work!