Ready to roll
With gas prices the way they are (and which stand to get worse), this oldie but goodie has become an essential mode of transportation. If my destination/s is within a few miles and what I am fetching/delivering can fit in a backpack, I’m on the bicycle.
I’m lucky enough to live in an area with many essential services (grocery, burgers, beer, other retail, etc.) within reasonable biking distance. I can then keep my gasoline expenditure at $20 a week. Plus, riding bikes in the name of saving gas is a great excuse to get riding. Signing up with Dave Heinzel’s nifty bike tool provides extra motivation, too.
Pictured above is my high-speed, long-distance bike (as opposed to the low-speed, short-distance model), a 1997 Specialized Stumpjumper. It was my first big purchase after graduating college in 1998. One fine morning that June, I took Eric, my bicycle guru and homeboy, with me to R&M Cyclery. Having ridden a Hardrock the previous several years, I was ready to upgrade. I found the above bike at a substantial discount because it was the previous year’s model (I got the Hardrock the same way after high school matriculation in 1993).
The only problem was that the bike came with clipless pedals. I wasn’t keen on the idea of having my shoes bolted into the pedals, so Eric offered to buy me a pair of regular toe-clip pedals if I’d give him the clipless jobs. I heartily agreed, and the gentleman at R&M made the switch for us.
The bike has served me well in the ensuing decade, providing exercise and entertainment on the road as well as on dirt. The road tires are a new addition to reduce rolling resistance during what I hope will be many trips in the fresh air. I still have the fat knobbies for when I get the urge to crash into trees. If anyone would like to join me, I’m partial to Lewis Memorial Acres off Koke Mill Road and the trails off whatever the paint-test road is called along the extreme southwestern arm of Lake Springfield.
Having posted this, I shall now commence a quick ride before The Boy comes home from school. Wave if you see me.
