I want to ride again

It will be three years this month since I unceremoniously abandoned my last bicycle to the curbside. It was a BikeE semi-recumbent and I rode her until she broke beyond my capacity to fix her. I was packing to move back to Georgia from Rhode Island, and due to limited cargo space, I had to make some hard choices around what to take and what to leave behind. It made sense to me at the time that my broken bike would not be making the trip. Within ten minutes of wheeling her to the curb, my beloved bike was snatch up and thrown into the back of a red pickup to meet her fate. I did not realize at the time that I had abandoned my life-long relationship with cycling as well.

It's funny how much one takes for granted how important the simple pleasures of life are. In the three years I have been separated from bicycles and cycling, I find myself growing more aware of the hole in my soul where cycling resided. I miss the staccato clicking of the freewheel as the landscape wraps itself around me, ever changing, flowing, like a stream of consciousness. I miss the warmth of my thighs as I work my way up a hill, to be rewarded with the sweet pleasure of racing down the other side. I miss the adventure of heading down an unfamiliar road just to see where it takes me. The sent of the air as I pass an orchard, the taste of food when I have worked my body hard, and the incredible beauty to discover just around the bend.

I want to ride again, but to do so, I will need to overcome some challenges. I live in an area where bicycling on the roads is hazardous at best. Georgia drivers are, on a whole, very aggressive and as far as I can tell, no one drives at the posted speed limit. The roads around my home are heavily used, narrow and there is no shoulders, let alone a sidewalk. There is no public transportation available, so taking my bike on a bus to some safer location is not an option. I'll have to grit it out and claim my piece of the road, mile by mile.

Then there is the bike. This is the beauty I have had my heart set on since its debut last fall. The Globe Haul 1. This bike has everything I could ask for; classy styling, functionality, comfort and price. Believe me, I have researched the bike thing coming and going, and have found nothing comparable in its price range. As soon as I can clear the purchase price, I will begin a new relationship with the road, and begin to fill that hole in my soul.

I can't wait to ride again.