I got a new bike! My reasons for cycling
Well, not really. It’s a loaner from my uncle who’s a huge bike buff. He hooked it up with this sweet ride:
Ian's sweet loaner bike (taken from my iPhone)
It’s my aunt’s old bike & since she hasn’t been using it, I’m gonna try it out for a bit.
Why the sudden interest in biking? My uncle convinced me that my 10-mile commute to work is totally bikable, especially since most of it happen on the bay coastline. In fact, a part of the commute has me riding through SFO…pretty neat! The decision to ditch the car for a pedal-powered machine is simple:
- Saves gas. If the forecast says I have five days of good weather, I save 100 miles in gas a week.
- Good for the environment. One less car on the road, less carbon emissions.
- Daily exercise. 20 miles a day will definitely bring the heart rate up! My goal is to look foine for my wedding. I’ll make sure to wear super-fitted Ts so everyone can notice.
- Promotes good health. Cyclists (from what I read online) need energy to burn. If I want to take this seriously, I may need to reconsider my eating habits.
- Good exercise in zen. You need to build nerves of steel trying to compete with 2,000-lbs. cars on the road. Obviously, the bike doesn’t win in weight, but it’s important to build ‘road presense’ so cars don’t overlook me on a two-lane road. Also, you have to get past that you need to dress the part, which is probably totally different that what I’m used to wearing:
Jazzy French cyclist (found on Flickr)
Of course, I have yet to commute to work, but everything above is very appealing to me. The next step? Actually taking it for a test spin. Wish me luck!
