Friday, 3 September 2010

Bike Love

I love my bike, in fact, everyone who uses it loves my bike. I am a good sharer. I invite you to ride it. You will love it. The seat is adjustable in height, so even if you are king kong, you should be able to ride it. And yes, my husband does ride it in a reckless, super fast, crazy manner that is particular, I think, to type-A males of all species.

I don't wear a helmet when I ride it. I don't own one.

I don't ride my bike to work. I cite my laptop as the excuse.

I don't ride my bike when there is crazy traffic on the road.

I don't ride the bike to the store because I cannot bring back grocery and the child without spilling one onto the road.

I just don't ride my bike enough!

I wish we were more kind to bicyclists in our country. I wish people would recognise biking as a legitimate means of transport, in our country. I wish people wouldn't honk at me when I am riding. I wish there were bike racks and bike paths and a real biking mafia. I hope you know that it has been my cross-training of choice these past few months, and there is nothing more fantastic than my post-long-run bike-rides back home. And yes, I love riding in the rain, and splashing through puddles, imagining for a second that I am back in school and Honey and I are together, admiring the trees and splashing around with our bikes (Hers a maroon BSA-SLR; mine a red AVON-SLR; back then).

Last week, she (the bike; she is feminine, brown(ish), strong, sturdy, and most of all, a hard-worker) got a nice spiffy overhaul. Her chain, brakes, gears, were all oiled. The loose mud-guards fixed up. I did not do it. I don't pay as much attention to her maintenance as I should. My friend did this for me. I was so taken aback and happy at that.

I have been salivating at the thought of riding it ever since. I eye it with longing every evening and morning when I leave the homestead.

I (feel I am) strong, sturdy, and most of all a hard-worker. I think I occasionally need a spiffy overhaul. I don't think I pay as much attention to maintenance as I should. But I will.

I lead you away from this weird note of mine, to this cute blog post I read today, and in case you don't really want to go there, write down its message for you:

"You'd look hotter in a helmet"

For sure.

Ride safe, people!

2 comments:

Choxbox said...

how about parking it at the insti gate and riding it in up to your dept and back till main gate? that surely is still do-able! dont tell me otherwise else i’ll go jump into the lake with the gharials behind the temple (if the lake still exists that is)

Preeti Aghalayam aka kbpm said...

yes, thats possible. but i use my bike to go to campus for my early morning runs (hate the concept of driving to a place to exercise). which means i need it at home. i am thinking of plonking another bike there at the gate for this purpose. during the day, in my work clothes, i cannot really bike around much though(sweating). i have another idea. that is to build a solar powered bike for riding around the campus. the panel would be too big to carry around for outside campus purposes...