This is Why I Bike
Every working day I pass by a couple gas stations, and I can't help but smirk a little to myself as I watch the prices rise. I should mention that I'm on my bike at the time, so I'm not paying for gas at all! Of course, it would be completely naive to say it doesn't affect me at all, but at least I'm not directly paying for it. But my secret wish is that the higher the prices go, the more people will seriously consider alternative methods of getting around, such as public transit or my preferred mode of transportation, biking. But again, perhaps I'm being too naive. Biking every day isn't easy. You need to have power, wisdom, and courage: power to operate the bike, wisdom to fix the bike and find the best route to take, and courage to share the road with people haphazardly operating a ton of metal at speeds much faster than you'll be able to achieve. But I've been biking steadily for seven years now in cities large and small. I even if it ends up being the death of me, I wouldn't regret it for a minute. Biking has changed my outlook on life for the better.
I first started biking as a solution to a problem. Like most children of my generation, I owned a couple bikes as a boy, but I stopped as I grew up. As an adult, I did have a bike for part of the time I was in Japan, but it got stolen. I truly started biking when I got a part-time job off campus in college. I needed to be at my job most days by 5:30. However, I had class until 4:50. I had a car, but it was in an economy lot away from campus, and regardless finding parking on lower campus was daunting. If I biked, however, I could make it in plenty of time. And so I took part of my paycheck and bought a used ten speed bike. Even when I secured a closer parking spot, I continued to bike to work. Even when I moved to the other side of town, I continued to biked to both class and work. I was hooked.
Biking just solved so many problems for me. Maintenance on my bike was cheaper by far than driving, and the only fuel it required was provided by stuff I was going to eat anyway. I was also looking for a good way to get a workout without having to take extra time from my day. I used to be very obese due to some poor life decisions I made in high school. I was close to 200 pounds at my worse. This might not sound so bad until you see that I'm only 5'3". In my first semester of college, I dropped 15 pounds by a combination of walking everywhere I needed to go, the hill, and playing Dance Dance Revolution. I continued to lose more when I started cooking for myself, but the most dramatic reduction in weight came when I was in Japan. I joke by saying that I bought too much so I didn't have money to eat, but really it was that I was eating very healthy (as Japanese food generally is) and walking and biking even more than before. Except I didn't realize it at the time that all my cloths were way too loose. It was only when I returned to the States and weighed myself did I realize that I was only 135. I desperately don't want to weigh that much again, so I've been trying to keep the weight off. And biking helped me keep it off, for the most part. My weight has fluctuated a lot over the last 10 years, but I've never weight more than 150 for any length of time. Most of the time in the summer months, when I could bike a lot, I was under 140. Biking does take a little longer, but honest when I don't bike, I just use the time I would save doing other exercises. So biking has helped me to stay in shape, and make me more health conscious.
Biking has also helped me to develop as a handyman and problem solver. I kept getting flat tires, and I didn't want to have to pay to get my tire fixed overtime I got a flat. So I just taught myself how to change the tires. It's pretty easy if you have the right tools. I also figured out a way to attach a basket (or in my case, a milk crate) to the back so I could actually carry groceries home with me. Once I learned I could fix my bike myself, I tried to see what else I can fix. I used to think I was incompetent with tools, but now I know better. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I can generally figure out how to do something. Comes in handy a lot during my current job. Some repairs are still beyond me though, so then I leave it to the professionals.
Finally, biking has taught me patients and persistence. It takes more time to get where you are going on a bike, so you learn to plan ahead a little. The going can also be hard, especially when the wind is blowing against you. And an inopportune flat can mean you're walking home. but I've learned just to deal with it and keep at it. It might take longer than you'll want, but you'll eventually get there. This has warped my sense of what is walkable, as I'm much more willing than most people to walk a greater amount of distance.
The one of the few things I've actually liked about moving down here is that I can bike for most of the year. Of course, I'll bike as long as it is above freezing. I don't think I'll ever give up biking completely. I'll probably be biking until the day I can no longer use my legs. And then I'll just see if i can use my arms!
I first started biking as a solution to a problem. Like most children of my generation, I owned a couple bikes as a boy, but I stopped as I grew up. As an adult, I did have a bike for part of the time I was in Japan, but it got stolen. I truly started biking when I got a part-time job off campus in college. I needed to be at my job most days by 5:30. However, I had class until 4:50. I had a car, but it was in an economy lot away from campus, and regardless finding parking on lower campus was daunting. If I biked, however, I could make it in plenty of time. And so I took part of my paycheck and bought a used ten speed bike. Even when I secured a closer parking spot, I continued to bike to work. Even when I moved to the other side of town, I continued to biked to both class and work. I was hooked.
Biking just solved so many problems for me. Maintenance on my bike was cheaper by far than driving, and the only fuel it required was provided by stuff I was going to eat anyway. I was also looking for a good way to get a workout without having to take extra time from my day. I used to be very obese due to some poor life decisions I made in high school. I was close to 200 pounds at my worse. This might not sound so bad until you see that I'm only 5'3". In my first semester of college, I dropped 15 pounds by a combination of walking everywhere I needed to go, the hill, and playing Dance Dance Revolution. I continued to lose more when I started cooking for myself, but the most dramatic reduction in weight came when I was in Japan. I joke by saying that I bought too much so I didn't have money to eat, but really it was that I was eating very healthy (as Japanese food generally is) and walking and biking even more than before. Except I didn't realize it at the time that all my cloths were way too loose. It was only when I returned to the States and weighed myself did I realize that I was only 135. I desperately don't want to weigh that much again, so I've been trying to keep the weight off. And biking helped me keep it off, for the most part. My weight has fluctuated a lot over the last 10 years, but I've never weight more than 150 for any length of time. Most of the time in the summer months, when I could bike a lot, I was under 140. Biking does take a little longer, but honest when I don't bike, I just use the time I would save doing other exercises. So biking has helped me to stay in shape, and make me more health conscious.
Biking has also helped me to develop as a handyman and problem solver. I kept getting flat tires, and I didn't want to have to pay to get my tire fixed overtime I got a flat. So I just taught myself how to change the tires. It's pretty easy if you have the right tools. I also figured out a way to attach a basket (or in my case, a milk crate) to the back so I could actually carry groceries home with me. Once I learned I could fix my bike myself, I tried to see what else I can fix. I used to think I was incompetent with tools, but now I know better. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I can generally figure out how to do something. Comes in handy a lot during my current job. Some repairs are still beyond me though, so then I leave it to the professionals.
Finally, biking has taught me patients and persistence. It takes more time to get where you are going on a bike, so you learn to plan ahead a little. The going can also be hard, especially when the wind is blowing against you. And an inopportune flat can mean you're walking home. but I've learned just to deal with it and keep at it. It might take longer than you'll want, but you'll eventually get there. This has warped my sense of what is walkable, as I'm much more willing than most people to walk a greater amount of distance.
The one of the few things I've actually liked about moving down here is that I can bike for most of the year. Of course, I'll bike as long as it is above freezing. I don't think I'll ever give up biking completely. I'll probably be biking until the day I can no longer use my legs. And then I'll just see if i can use my arms!