Bicycling: An Enriching Pleasure:

As someone who's been a bicycling enthusiast since childhood, I now own two bicycles: A ten year old 21-speed mountain bike for biking around town to do errands, go on appointments, etc around the city, and a 5 year old 27-speed Fuji Touring bicycle, which is used exclusively for long-distance rides out in the country. My long-distance country bike rides are mainly done on the weekends, in the good weather, but, on occasion, I do them on weekeday mornings, too. In the winter, and when the weather's rainy, or too hot or too cold, however, I have my stationary bike, which I try to use for at least a half hour during seasons/days when I don't ride on the road.

While using the stationary bike is certainly not the same as riding outdoors, on the road, it's better than nothing when it comes to the wintertime, or for rainy or extremely not weather, when I retreat to the shelter of my A/C'ed apartment.

Bicycling, whether it be for recreation or for commuting to and from work, appointments, errands, etc., is a tremendous pleasure, as well as being beneficial to the heart, body and overall physical and psychological well-being. Whether one bicycles in the city or out in the country, especially nowadays, a certain amount of vigilance and defensiveness is required: In the city, one has to be on the lookout for pedestrians, cars turning, people in parked cars opening their car doors, and, especially during the morning/evening rush-hours, one also needs to be especially careful of drivers going home from work who're clearly anxious to get home, have had a nip or two before heading home from work, etc. One way I deal with this, if drivers seem especially nervous and upset, is to pull over to the side, wait for a break in the traffic, and then resume my riding.

If there's a red light, I'll use a pedestrian walk light to ride through the intersection whenever possible, hence avoiding the crowd of cars and getting a head start. To make a left turn, if there's a great deal of vehicular traffic, I'll do this particular maneuver as a pedestrian, whether it be here in the city or out in the country.

Anyway, Saturday was a gorgeous day here in the old Bay State, so I went on a 15-mile bike ride, The route I did has some moderately steep, long hills, as well as gently roilling terrain. Hence the "granny" gear, as the smallest front sprocket on my touring bike is called, comes in handy. For gently rolling terrain terrrain and/or straightaways, the middle to upper gear ranges come in equally handy. Oh, for having lots of gears to use!

For my long-distance country bike rides, I drive out to Concord Center, parked, and ride my favorite 12-15 mile route, through Concord, Carlisle, and some of Chelmsford. Even when going along at a moderately fast clip, hunkered down on the drops (the lowest position of the handlebars), I still find time to observe the now-green countryside, now lush with leaves and flowers. Since Mother Nature has cloaked everything in green for right now, it's there for all to enjoy and appreciate. On nice days, many others have the same idea as I do, and I frequently see other bike riders out on the roads.

For long distance country riding, I like the feel of the dropped handlebars--they cut down on wind resistance, I get a chance to really lean over into the wind and stretch my upper body, and I feel like I'm soaring along with a sense of power and control. Yet, at the same time, there's still time and opportunity to look around at what Mother Nature has provided, and to appreciate the beauty. If the green woods could talk, what stories they could tell!!

Now, since I use bicycles with both the dropped handlebars (I also love the way they look, btw), and the flat, upright handlebars, I'm well aware of the advantages and disadvantages to both:
In the city, the flat, upright handlebars, not to mention the fatter, knobbier tires and heavier frame that a mountain bike has to offer, are far better, I think, for commuting in city traffic, and the fatter, knobbier tires are far better for commuting on Boston's streets, which can be pretty nasty. The flatter, upright handlebars and the fatter, knobbier tires aren't so great for touring, since one can't bend forward into the wind to cut down resistance and gain speed, and the fatter tires are also not conducive to really gaining momentum and speed.

Dropped handlebars, on the other hand, are perfect for that. Since there are also three different positions on the dropped handlebars:(up on top, riding over the brake hoods, and down on the drops), there's also the advantage of being able to adjust one's whole upper body and hands as one wishes. I take full advantage of this, moving my hands into the three different positions on the dropped handlebars, which givese me lots of advantage. I can take off and gain some speed--hunkering down on the drops, hence really gaining some momentum.

Of course, however, with a touring bike, which has a thinner frame and wheels, one has to be more careful of bumps, potholes, etc, which can and do come up even while riding on roads out in the country. The touring bike, imo, is really not good for city riding.

All that being said, I cherish riding both of my bicycles, and riding both in the city and in the country. Bicycling is something that I've been doing with much relish since childhood. When I was very little, I had a tricycle. Then, I got a two-wheel bike with coaster brakes and training wheels, when I got to be a good enough and confident enough rider, were removed. I road my one-speed bike with coaster brakes from transition through the summer before entering the 4th grade.

In fourth grade, I got my first geared bike for my birthday, which I still remember to this day: a 3-speed Raleigh bike that my parents had even stenciled my name on. I rode that bike all through the 5th and sixth grade. After that, I got another, better 3-speed Raleigh bicycle, which was sturdier. I used to enjoy riding my bikes to school during all those days, even when I went to high school, which was the next town over from the one I grew up in. Those were the days when bikes weren't ripped off so readily, and I managed to get by with a skimpy little combination lock chain, with which I'd lock my bike to a tree in a wooded area behind our high school. I rode the green Raleigh 3-speed bike through high school, too.

A year after graduating high school, I wen ton an 8-week hosteling bike trip through Europe, for the summer. I was already to have my 3-speed Raleigh bike overhauled for the trip, to take along. The bike store manager, however, recommended that I get a 10-speed bike because I'd be much happier and more able to ride to ride long distances on the trip, and he was proven right. I got my first advanced bicycle for my trip to Europe--a 10-speed English Dawes Realmrider bicycle, with dropped handlebars, which, although somewhat big for me, I rode for 20 years....yup, you read right.....20 years!

In the early 1990's, I got an even better, more advanced bike...a 21-speed Japanese Bridgestone RBT road and touring bike, also with dropped handlebars. The old 10-speed Dawes was left up in the house in Vermont that my parents had for awhile but was sold shortly before my dad's passing. Well, I rode that Bridgestone bike to and from work in Cambridge while in my present residence, but that was a somewhat heavier, tougher bike. Bridgestone pulled out of the American market for whatever reason, and, when my Bridgestone bike really began having other issues, and parts could no longer be obtained for my Bridgestone R-BT bike, after 11 years of good use, I knew it was time to move on to other things.

My latest advanced bike is the 27-speed Fuji Touring Bike that I now have, which I enjoy tremendously. My mountain bike is a cheap bike, which I only use for here in the city, and therefore don't worry as much about its getting stolen, even though I enjoy it.

Living in a high-theft area, it's necessary to secure bicycles as best as one can, and obtain the best locks too. When one or both bikes aren't in use, I keep them stored on a pole-cat rack in my apartment.

Both of my Raleigh 3-speed bikes, as well as my one-speed coaster brakes bike were girl's bikes, with upright handlebars. Now, for the past 30 some-odd years. I've thought nothing of riding bikes with the bar going across the top, since it's stronger. Anyway, I'll be doing more bicycling this summer. Bicyclling in early to mid fall is rather pleasant, too, weatherwise, when Mother Nature teases the beholder with beautifully colorful leaves and the nippy crisp air that's frequently prevalent during the autumn months. The disadvanteges, however to bicycling at that time of year are as follows: One must be more careful on the roads, since the presence of many fallen pine needles, pine cones, acorns and leaves can and do present a potential hazard that could lead to spills. It's also true that many of the "leaf peepers" are out in their cars and aren't always so careful. I've survived by being careful, taking care of, and enjoying myself.

One of the things I do is to make sure that I take a bottle of water and a bottle of cranberry juice along on my long distance bike rides, which is helpful. Whether I bicycle in the city or the country, I always, without exception, wear a helmet for protection. One can take a nasty fall, at any time, anywhere.

I believe that anyone, with rare exceptions, can learn to ride a bicycle. My mom admittedly regrets not having learned to bike ride as a young girl. My brother and sister also bike ride on occasion, although not as enthusiastically or often as I do. Having a good bike shop to go to also helps, but one must make sure that s/he buys fits properly. That is of utmost importance in purchasing a bicycle!! There are many wonderful books and magazines to do research on bicycling, which provide much useful information regarding purchasing, types of bikes for different lifestyles, budgets, etc., how and where to ride, and upcoming riding events.

I live in the city, which I love, and I also love having the best of both worlds: Living in the city and visiting the country is my cup of tea.