Pedal Power

See this?

This is my precious.

In 2006, my old beloved bike was stolen. Don't be too sad, it's my fault. I left it outside overnight "locked up" on the Boston city streets with a pathetic excuse for a lock.

I mourned. I grieved. Then, I bought this fixed gear bicycle you see above. Why a fixed gear, you may be wondering?

I wanted to be cool. Not much more complicated than that. Anyone who buys one and doesn't confess the same motive might not be telling the truth. I'm kidding. People have all sorts of reasons for doing what they do. If they are riding a fixie, ask them why!

I simply wanted to know what the big deal was after years of riding bikes with tons of components, derailers, shifters and gears.

A fixed gear bike is awesome because there are less parts to get dirty and/or fix.

Exhibit A:

how many parts are on your bike?

It's almost spring and whether or not you buy a fixed gear bike, I highly recommend you get something with two-wheels soon and bring some pedal power to your spring season.

Here's three reasons why :

1) REDUCE COMMUTE TIME: if you don't have a car like me, commuting can suck. I was adding an extra 10 hours to my "work week" by commuting almost an hour each way, 5 days a week.

2) REDUCE STRESS with EXERCISE: not only was my commute time getting me down--10 hours is a big loss!--but I also wasn't getting much exercise, either. Tendonitis in my shoulder has me grounded from lifting heavy things for a while--goodbye, gunshow--so my gym membership is pretty useless because I'm not a treadmill person. Biking 4.5 miles each way today gave me a TON of energy and boosted my mood like 8,000 points. That was one day. Imagine what doing this daily will do for my spirit?! 

3) INCREASE COURAGE & JOY: I'm not sure where you live, but I live in a city. And I commute in city traffic. During rush hour. If ever I needed a boost of confidence, getting from my front door to work and back home again makes me feel pretty damn brave. And cruising past all the large metal machine, and the people in them, caught in traffic? Feels awesome. What joy can biking bring into your life after work, school or on weekends? 

Get a bike. Be car-less!

Yeah.