photo by Ben Ingham 

I’ve recently been bitten by the bicycling bug.

Again.

When I was a teenager, my dad would take the whole family out for semi-regular mountain bike rides. I remember it being hard, but getting a kick out of it. Bicycling used to be my main mode of transportation when I was in junior high. I have fond memories of biking to South Pasadena for errands and to get away for a bit.

Since living up in Northern California, I’ve tried to take up various sporting hobbies, and so far none of them have stuck (for various reasons). That is, until I decided to start biking again. First, I got a flat bar road bike (which, incidentally, isn’t really a flat bar road bike. It’s more of a mountain bike with some fat city tires on them. I will be turning this into a real mountain bike soon). After I road around for a bit, I remembered I really really like this bike riding business.

Second, I purchased a really great road bike (which I’m attempting to train for my first charity ride coming up in July. For some, 50 miles is not a lot, but for me it’s quite daunting.). And now, my (former) next door neighbor “gifted” me his fixie bike. Now, there’s no way I’m riding a fixie (fixed gear) on the streets; it’s kind of a death wish, really. So I’ve taken it to the local bike shop, and hopefully I’ll have a functioning non death trap, around town, bike very soon.