The woes and wonders of being a cyclist

I don’t have a car. My wheels are my shoes, or the two round things that happened to come with my bike when my dad bought it for my mom. Sometimes I drive around our family tank – the 2001 Astro Van. It’s indestructible! It’s survived two “L” drivers with just scratches! (and none of those scratches came from me, FYI :) ) On the rare occasion I can drive around my dad's brandspankingnew Ford Truck. However, on days like today, when my mom is working and has the tank and my dad is working and has the truck, I bike to work. Normally this isn’t an issue because the weather has been pretty nice so far.

Today was the exception to the rule.

See this picture? Imagine that, but about 10x as cloudy, and add a lot of rain. Oh, and make it super cold; cold enough that when I’m pedaling along on my bike I can see my breath. Add also huge trucks passing by as I’m biking along the highway, splashing me with mud every time. And also add those crazy manic drivers who need to torment every pedestrian/cyclist they see by swerving dangerously close to them.

Needless to say, when I hopped off my bike to toss it in the back of my dad’s truck, I was drenched. Mud, rain, dirt…it was wonderful! Fortunately I thought ahead and put my huge sweatpants on before I left to protect my work clothes. In this state, I could only think one thing. No, it wasn’t how much I wanted a car. It was more like; please don’t let anyone see me like this. Looking like that in the middle of town is hardly conducive to happy memories; I don’t care what anyone says!

Riding my bike isn’t all bad though. For example, look at this next picture. 

This was taken one gorgeous fall day – another day when I had to bike to work. The bike ride isn’t long, and is mostly downhill (yuss!); but riding along that beautiful fall afternoon with the wind whistling in my ears,the sun playing with the clouds above, and the tall mountain peaks rising in the distance – nothing can beat that. God conducts a marvelous orchestra of sights and sounds!

Riding around on my bike for a summer and a fall (but hopefully not a winter!) will definitely make me appreciate a car much more than if I had gotten one right away. For now though, I’ll enjoy not having to pay for gas, insurance, or repairs. Life is grand, despite the fact that my bike seat isn’t terribly comfortable :)