I think the colloquialism is, "Meh." It's another number...
Anyway...I had a phone conversation the other morning that keeps coming back to what some would call my mind. Glenn and I knew each other in high school, in the time I misspent at "Louisville Central State High School at Twelfth and Chestnut, not to be confused with Central State Hospital." Yes, it was the alma mater of one Cassius Clay AND Greg Page. I even saw Greg Page in the hallways a few times while I was a student there.
Glenn and I reconnected a bit via that common social networking site. We've had some interesting conversations by way of catching up on thirty years of not having seen each other. A segment of the phone conversation we had the other day keeps coming back to me, though.
It seems I'm a source of inspiration for Glenn, in that I'm doing things by bicycle that most folks won't do. Apparently I'm one of very few people who are willing to, for example, do handyman services and get to job sites by bicycle.
Glenn asked me what led to my decision to do things this way, as if it was a sole moment in life. I don't think there was a single moment that led me to this point--extreme as it may seem to folks who drive by default. It's been a process. I've always enjoyed using a bicycle--I was three when I got my first one, and the training wheels fell off soon after (since I apparently didn't need them, Mom decided she wasn't going to fix them). My first job was as an apprentice bike mechanic, and since I wasn't old enough to drive legally, I rode to work. I rode to work when I was at a grocery store in my late teens--usually because one or the other car was out of service, but I rode.
I was thinking about my conversation with Glenn, and realized that I've worked very few places that I couldn't get to by bicycle. I even ended a job interview fifteen years ago in part by recognizing that I would not be able to ride to work, and that was but one reason I didn't feel the job under discussion would not be a good fit for me. When I started this blog, about five hundred posts ago, I even stated that it was in part a way for me to hold myself accountable and ride to work more, despite that my commute route went over a bridge that is considered terrifying by many in the cycling community.
When Jenn and I bought our house, we had been looking in areas that allowed each of us the ability to get to work by bicycle. Now that we are in this house (two years, already??), I am keeping my primary service area close to home (although I'm willing to cover more territory...).
It's been a process. I have made refinements over time, and came upon the idea of biking to work sites as part of that process. I mostly like where I am, I like where I think I'm going.
For someone who doesn't feel as confident as I am, I encourage trying things like the Clif 2-mile Challenge. Or, if that seems daunting, a 1-mile version of it. Take a class on how to ride as part of traffic--safely and intelligently. Just like doing an ultra-distance event like RAIN, it's one pedal stroke at a time. Build on small successes, learn from setbacks.
And keep riding!
No comments:
Post a Comment