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The Green Goose

I rode our old clunker today for the first time in a couple years. This is our original bike. It's a seafoam green Mongoose Sycamore mountain bike my mom bought for me for maybe $250 when I started college in 1993. The poor thing endured several Chicago winters outside, got me around campus just fine, then spent many years collecting dust. These days I use it very occasionally as a commuter and errand-running bike, but the thing weighs 33 pounds so it's not much fun to ride up the hill to our apartment. We have updated the crankset and pedals and put slick tires on it so it's actually a half-decent ride, though, all things considered.

We definitely got our money's worth -- we (mostly Dave) have put way more miles on this bike than the typical 70 miles or whatever that the average lower-end bike gets ridden in its life. Dave has ridden the Headlands, a favorite local spot for hill repeats, on this lead sled. And he kept up with road-bike-riding friends! He's fast, that guy. (It didn't take him long to spring for a decent road bike after that, though.)

Anyway, I ran some errands and then rode to the pool. After my short swim, as I was putting on my cycling shoes and helmet, a woman in the locker room asked in an awestruck tone, "Did you ride your bike to the pool?" I told her it was my first go at it, and when she asked I told her it was about eight miles round-trip. She said, I am not kidding, "You're my hero." That's a little dramatic. But maybe she'll be inspired to try it herself one day. I did not tell her that I had already done a spin class and a tempo run on the treadmill earlier in the day.

I am not a seasoned bike commuter. I put my helmet on in the locker room, then got outside and realized I couldn't get my messenger bag strap over my helmet. Once I had taken off my helmet, gotten strapped into the bag, and put my helmet back on, I remembered that the bike was still locked and I needed to get into the bag to get my keys and stow the lock. Sigh. Tiring stuff.

So... I dunno if I'll make a regular habit of riding to the pool, at least not until after I'm done with super-long swims and multi-workout days. That'll be in just a few weeks!

(OK... just as I was about to post this, I heard an ominous POP and HISSSS from downstairs. The front tube's valve just exploded. I suppose I should be glad this didn't happen while I was riding. But it looks like I'll be riding my road bike, not the green goose, over the city potholes to Sports Basement tonight.)

March 13, 2008 5:16 PM