Saturday, April 19, 2008

Hallelujah... Free at Last!

Brothers and sisters... I once was lost, but now I'm found! I was in the dark, and have emerged into the light! I've served my sentence.

Of course, I refer to the fact that my doctor ordered me off the bicycle for 4-6 weeks, due to a medical procedure. As the date approached, we debated, him taking the 6-week argument and me arguing for 4 weeks. We ended up compromising at 5 weeks. And Friday, 4/18 was the day. Coincidentally, Friday was the day my 31-day bus pass expired. (I took 44 trips.)

35 days out of the saddle... the last time I did that was 1985... 23 years ago!

It was TOUGH, my friends, actually having to PAY for my transportation!* I'm happy to report I never debased myself to the point where I was paying to own and operate a motor vehicle... heaven forbid!

Friday after work I topped off the tires and went on a 6-mile ride.

Brothers and sisters... what they say is true! Once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you don't forget! Can I hear an "Amen!!"?

Winning the Fiesta Bowl. Stepping foot on the Moon. Going on a bike ride. Humanity at its finest.

My smile muscles are aching!

Freedom. Freedom from being over the oil-company barrel. Freedom from stop-and-go traffic. Freedom to go wherever my own strength can take me. Thank God Almighty!

I can't wait 'til Monday, when I can bicycle to the office! (It will take me a few weeks to get up to speed. I'll ride every remaining day this month; it'll probably just be to and from the office for a few days, but I hope I'm doing 20-milers before the month is over.)

*Full disclosure... there is a price to pay, even for bicycle transportation. But per mile it's a tiny fraction of motorized transportation, particularly private motor vehicle. However, IMO, the "rewards" for paying that price are incalculable.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that you're back in the saddle.

Today I'm taking our oldest son to his driver's ed orientation. I didn't want to have anything to do with this but my wife is out of town this weekend so she can't take him. Ironically she has our car so we'll need to get there by bike.

Bikeboy said...

Hey, bob t - thanks for the cheers. I truly feel as though a burden has been lifted.

Trouble with the teenage driving rite of passage is (and I say this remembering my own), driving is such a "grownup" thing that drivers tend to turn their backs on all other options. My kids have all attended Borah HS, where there are 1500 or students, and 1000 cars in the parking lot. Probably half of those kids live within a 2.5 mile radius of the school... sad. (Maybe $4 gas will give new perspective.)

Josh said...

I'm hoping for $7 gas!

Jon said...

congrats on being back in the saddle again