Time to publish a new Post after a hiatus of a couple of months. Always have to have something to motivate me and that is usually a topic that currently grabs my attention.
During this hot weather I have been riding my bicycle to the office in the morning. On going home to lunch I switch to the car because of the heat. It has been enjoyable and has engendered some favorable comment from neighbors and associates. Most think I am doing it to try to reduce my "carbon footprint." Not so. I do it mostly for the exercise and simply because I enjoy the ride.
My father introduced me to bicycles at the age of 8. There was always one around the house since he was a letter carrier and at that time they walked or used bicycles. He had a tough time in the winter which was one of the motivations for our move to Phoenix in 1939.
Anyway, he surprised me one day with an Iver Johnson balloon tired bicycle from Al's Bike shop. I was delighted and rode it everywhere. It enabled me to get a job as a sub on a Deseret News Route which I took over in about a year. I covered the 7th Ward and River Heights area. With big tires and no gears it was quite a job to get up the River Heights hill, but I did it regularly without getting off. My Route number was 308 and I delivered from 50-60 papers daily. Made about $12 a month which seemed great at the time. The subscription price was 78 cents a month!
Yesterday on the way to work by rear tire suddenly went flat at about 5th east. I walked it to the local Bike shop (Sunrise Cyclery) on 100 east for repair. When I picked it up a new bicycle caught my eye - Giant Brand with thinner tires; better gear shift and bigger wheels. It was love at first sight and I bought it and rode it home. Much easier on the hills and the level than the old one. I picked up the old one that afternoon in the car. It is nice to have new wheels since the old one is about 20 years old. It has served me well and is available to the first to claim it.
Most of our progeny also like to ride bicycles. Lets all go for a ride whenever we get together. It is a great way to motivate oneself in more ways than one!
12 comments:
Yay! You are back. I was missing the words of your humble opinion lately. I loved those stories. From your childhood, and the present. You deserve a good bike Grandpa. Anyone fit enough to happily ride to work everyday deserves the best. I loved how you said it was love at first sight. I can just see your face lighting up when you saw it. If I was still at USU I'd gladly take care of the old bike for you, but I think it would be a bit much to ship it all the way to Maryland. Unless, of course, you want to ride it here and drop it off. I think you could handle it.
Hooray! Another post. Last summer I bought some used bicycles so Jake and I could ride along the wonderful trails by my house, but alas, we never have. I have really been wanting to fix them up and get out there. Thanks for the inspiration.
Yes, great story. So glad you found a new bike that suits you so well. I bet you will really enjoy riding to work in the fall months when the weather is so much nicer. Happy trails!
Congrats on the new bike. I remember that you always like biking. Logan seems like a fun (but challenging) place to ride.
Chad and Steve Frisby introduced me to mountain biking when I was a kid. They were kind enough to take me along on many campouts and biking trips. I find it great exercise and would love to do it more.
Keep up the biking. And hopefully you can increase your "enjoyment footprint."
Love the post. I am wondering if the hill you used to ride up is the one that Steve and I tried the other month and found to be impossible even with all our easy gears. Let's do the Park City trail this fall.
that last one was from Jan
I always like to brag to my workout friends about my Grandparents. I've actually told several people already how you have been riding to work! I got a road bike last summer and have loved riding it! Sometimes I ride to Mom's and then to Melody's apartment and then home, (about 16 miles). Todd has a mountain bike so it is hard for us to ride together. My bike goes so much faster with the skinny tires. Anyway, I would love to ride with you sometime!
I loved that story - i can just see you falling in love with that new bike. Andy says that if you don't have any takers yet, he'd be happy to take the bike off your hands. We want to come up and visit sometime soon anyway. Happy biking!
Thanks to everyone for the welcome comments. I never dreamed that writing about bicycles would interest anyone.
Suzanna we look forward to a visit. I will hold the old Bike for Andy as he is the first to ask.
darn! wish we'd beat Suzana to it! Chad was nice enough to fix up my old bike and we just brought it home to Seattle with us last weekend. Loved your post!
Bikes! I have had one since I was 4. My dad bought a little one with direct drive (no brakes--pedals worked equally in forward or reverse). He put me on it and pushed me--I fell over. He did it again, telling me to keep pedaling. I did--didn't fall over this time. I had a paper route, too. Afternoon paper, the Columbia Record. Had about 50 papers. Made about the same as you. Saved my money and bought a bike with 3 speeds. Man, was I in heaven. Jan and I bought new bikes in the summer of '05, and have ridden about 1750 miles since then. The kids gave us a bike rack for Christmas a while back, and we take the bikes when we drive on a trip. Recently, we took them to So. Cal, and took a 28 mile ride from Anaheim Angels stadium along the Santa Ana River (dry most of the time) down to Huntington Beach and back. Next up is a trip to Yosemite, which is reputed to have 36 miles of paved trails.
Thanks for the inspiration.
I remember my first bike, Dad. I was about nine or ten and having spent my earlier years on Guam, I'd never learned to ride a bike or tie shoes(since we always wore zories). So, our first Christmas at 326, Jan and I both received new bikes. Mine was black and hers was blue. We took them out in front of the house and promptly crashed into each other. My favorite biking experience was to ride over to Dracena Park and follow the narrow trail downhill through the dark and dense woods. It was a real adventure, feeling alone, independent yet a little scared.
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