Anniversaries

Today makes one complete week since I gave up my car.  I know that I will have more and better observations and after a few months of my new lifestyle, but here are a few things I've noticed so far:

   

1.  The cheapest part about getting a used bike is the bike.  I'm headed to the store to buy another $50 worth of stuff, making my total bike-related expenditures close to $200.  Granted, these are all one-time purchases, and all together it's still $225 cheaper than buying the new bike I had wanted.  Plus, even if I did buy the new bike, I would still have needed to buy the pump, the patch kit, the tire levers, the chain grease, the rack and panniers, and the lights.  So, this is still the cheaper option by far.  If only my bike would change gears... that will be this weekend's project.  

   

2.   In the past week I have been to or talked to the employees of at least six different bike shops.  They have all been courteous, friendly, and genuinely interested in meeting my needs, not selling me expensive gear.   If these are the type of people I get to be around if I become a "cyclist," sign me up.  

   

3.   Bike racks are usually closer than the closest parking spots.  Take that, car drivers.

   

4.   Anyone going to give up his or her car should spend a few days walking or bussing everywhere before switching to a bike.  It will make whatever bike he or she ends up with a dream come true: fast, easy, cargo-carrying, and convenient.  

    

5.   Yeah, helmets really are dorky.  Really.

    

6.   The extra planning it's been taking me to coordinate places to store my bike, times to catch the bus, etc. has actually had a positive effect on other details in my life.  I've packed a lunch every day this week, and my room's clean.  After taking an hour a half to get home, the five seconds extra momentum needed to put away my clothes and wash a tupperware seems like nothing.

7.    You know that feeling of independence and freedom you have when you have a car?  You have the ability to take off any moment of the day or night and run errands, go for a drive, pick something up quickly.  That ability and the accompanying feeling is, unfortunately, largely curtailed when your primary modes of transportation are busses, your bike, and your own two feet.  But the compensation is that you can go all sorts of places cars can't, and you can still go nearly anywhere you care to go, you just evaluate how much you care a lot more before you set out.  

   

8.    Naming your bike is worth it; you're going to be spending a lot of time with he/she/it.  Maggie and I have spent several hours getting acquainted already, and I anticipate many happy hours spent riding her and several frustrated hours learning to fix and maintain her.  She and I are going to be going a long way together.