I went looking for a bicycle a couple of years ago. I never thought I would ever own another bike, but I had given a lot of thought to buying one for several reasons. I had always enjoyed riding my bike as a kid and I could see myself getting a charge out of being able to travel around again on two wheels. I have always figured that it’s good to indulge that little kid in all of us at times. I also thought that cycling would be a bit easier than running on my knees. It wasn’t like I was going to stop running, but I thought it would be good to develop an alternative because, as much as I hate to admit it, my joints aren’t quite as strong as they used to be. Another reason I bought a bike was that gas prices were getting outrageous and I knew I could save at least a little bit of money if I used bike pedals instead of a gas pedal.
Biking is a great way to exercise, and exercise is something that all humans need in order to remain healthy. There are plenty of benefits derived from regular exercise. Those who exercise are stronger than those who don’t. Exercise is also a healthy way to manage one’s weight, lower one’s blood pressure, and avoid disease. It also helps you sleep better. Exercise is also great for your head. Your thoughts will be clearer following a good workout and you may find it easier to solve problems both at work and at home. Most importantly, though, you’ll feel better. You’ll feel great about taking care of yourself, you’ll be less stressed throughout the day, and you’ll enjoy the respect that you will receive from family and friends.
I didn’t really know what kind of bike to buy as I had not owned one in thirty years. A friend recommended that I go see the guys at Martha’s Bikes in North Plymouth, Massachusetts. Martha’s features bikes made by Trek, a company that began building bicycles back in 1976 and has developed quite a product mix, as well as, a huge following among avid bikers. At the time, I wanted a durable bike that would get me around town and would not cost me over $400. Ed at Martha’s recommended that I purchase a hybrid bike, meaning that it would ride fine on either trails or on the road. The bike had an aluminum frame and came with a shock absorber on its seat post, which I figured would save my rear end from becoming too beat up. Ed proved to be very knowledgeable about bikes in general and, when I agreed to buy, he even threw in an initial free tune-up as long as I brought the bike back within a year of the purchase date.
Of course, when one buys a bike, one has to look at other necessities and accessories. Two necessities were a helmet and a bike lock. There was absolutely no way I was going to ride a bike without a helmet, although I see people riding without them all of the time. There are, quite simply, too many drivers on the road today that just don’t have an eye for looking out for cyclists. I can’t tell you how many times I have come close to getting picked off by someone who just wasn’t paying attention to the tall guy rumbling down the road on two wheels instead of four.
Bike locks keep people honest. The one I bought certainly isn’t going to stop someone who really wants my bike. The cable on my lock can most certainly be cut by one of those pairs of heavy duty cable cutters, but how many people carry those things around? My lock is a combination style, and I could set the combination to whatever I wanted it to be when I bought it. It’s made by a company called Kryptonite. If it’s strong enough for Superman, it’s strong enough for me.
My new Trek bike cost me $350, they charged me $34 for the helmet, and then another $15 for the lock. All of that is just shy of $400, which was my limit in the first place. Of course, sales tax threw me a bit over my target, but I was willing to ride with that given the quality of my purchases.
I love my bike. I love the way it rides and I love the speeds that I can attain as I roll into the center of town. I never realized how hilly my home town is before I bought my bike, though, and hills can be a real challenge when one first get s started as a rider. There are two tricks to negotiating hills; one is physical, and the other is mental. In a physical sense, a rider has to know his bike and, specifically, how to handle the gear shifters. This requires practice. There were a few times when I was first starting out (hell, it even happened last week, come to think of it!) when I went to shift and suddenly found myself pedaling an unattached chain. Thankfully, my Trek seems to quickly repair itself when this happens, for which I am eternally grateful. But it helps to know when to shift and what gear to shift to. As I said, this takes some trial and error but it’s all good because it’s really not that hard to figure out.
Anyone who has ever begun an exercise routine knows that the head can get in the way of getting things done. If going uphill on a bike was easy, everyone would be out there doing it. The trick is to focus on how you will feel once you get over that hill, rather than focusing on the difficulty of climbing it. It won’t take too long for your body to adjust to climbing hills and before you know it, you’ll actually look forward to the challenge of the whole experience.
I’ll close this with a quote from Jerry at Martha’s Bikes in Plymouth. We were standing outside his shop after I picked up my bike after he had tuned it last week. As I was strapping on my helmet, he smiled and said:
“Watch out for the knuckleheads out there.”
Have a great week.
