My Misadventures on My Bike
So, lately I have been biking everywhere because I can't yet afford to get a summer bus pass. I have biked across town in my Cracker Barrel uniform, across to the other side of town in a skirt for my other job, and to downtown in the dress that my good friend Lisa bought me, you know Lisa the black and white one, yeah. That interview outfit rode up my legs as I biked, dug into my shoulders, and the heels were not as difficult as I thought they would be on the pedals.
I have not yet, thank the Lord, fallen off of my bike. I have lost one of the brakes, so I can only brake with the back wheel. Of course, we humans adapt.
I have been looked at, nearly hit, whistled at, and even yelled at by a passing SUV full of most likely drunken college frat boys as they sped past the bike lane and threw their trash at me.
Yeah, its been grand.
However, I must admit that my favorite time on the bike is when I have a good song on, I am going down hill or have a good speed effortlessly going, and I can coast and sway along the road I'm riding. There is something freeing, calming, and simultaneously invigorating about being as Jerry Seinfield once described, "moving, but motionless." He was talking about being in a car, but I felt the same sensation on my bike.
Every time I am huffing up a hill, or dodging traffic, or carrying my food in a bag between my teeth, I often first think back to when I had a car. Or I look at the dozens of cars speeding past, or even people getting off the bus, and wonder if they realize how awesome they have it. There are people all over the world who have never been in a car their entire lives, who wish they had a bike. Then there are people who rarely walk up the driveway to their mansion. You know, its easy to argue the extremes to give you perspective, but that only goes so far. When I am riding my bike, I pray that the Lord help me to love them and be happy for their blessing. I remind myself that this is my season in life, and that when I do get a bus pass, then a car, I will be so very grateful.
I am glad that God was able to bring some good out of my ... foolishness. Even though I was asked, all kinds of after the fact, to return the bike before I left town, I still have it now to use and use it I do.
The brief history of me and cars is thus:
In high school, my mom had two cars and she was going to give me the green one when I graduated. At Stanford, freshman are not allowed to have cars, even though my roommate, and I am sure many others, did. My mother claims now that the car would not have made the 24 hour drive to California. At any rate, when I returned home from my first quarter away, the car sat in the driveway. I don't remember now if I drove it then, I believe I did. Over the summer, in between math camp and getting married I probably drove a little bit. Then, suddenly it seemed to me, the car was my sister Clinshay's. My mother gave it to the sister that was afraid to drive and didn't have a driver's license. Eventually, my youngest sister got her license and began using the car. Over the years, I learned to let it go.
My husband had his own car history full of woes and set backs. When push came to shove and we needed a car, I encouraged him away from the place he had previously been shopping for used cars to get something for the both of us. No dealership could finance us on my credit alone, so we went to our parents. My mother simply could not help us and his mother said the same. After a few more days of using up gas going place to place, we were finally able to get help. The dealer talked to both our moms on the phone, but it was Stephen's mom who finally said she would help.
We struggled as many young couples do to keep up with the financial responsibilities of life but it was my mental health that threw the monkey into the wrench, as I prefer to say. Stephen took the car with him when he left and I was once again without a car. Because my other sister was so thoroughly entrenched in the green car, I took it upon myself to ride public transportation. For the last six months I was in San Antonio, I slowly stopped fighting the battle to get my car back and instead focused on how I was going to move on from the raw unexpected tragedy that had befallen my life.
When the opportunity presented itself to start over in a new city, I prayerfully proceeded. A 24 hour Greyhound bus ride later, I was here. I walked everywhere, all over town in fact, through the snow, during grocery shopping, interviews, everything. Finally, when I had the promise of a job in January, I pulled the money together for a bus pass and was once again riding with the people. It was also around this time that I got a letter in the mail and a call from my husband about the car that he and my mother in law had.
I was being asked to sign off on the car so that it could be traded in and my name taken off the title. Feeling defeated and forelorned, I signed off yet another car and let the same car go a second time. Fortunately, the transaction left me with a paid off car on my credit. That line on my credit report however did not get me safely to and from work.
Fast forward a few months later to the reason why I launched into the sordid tale of my vehicular woes. One of the randos I knew had a bike and mentioned that he rarely used it. I told him I could really use a bike in town, especially since it was going to be getting warmer soon. He offered to give it to me, (if you have seen Bedtime Stories, imagine Adam Sandler) "For freeeeeeeeee" helmet, pump, and all. I just want to go on the record once and for all that I DID NOT EXCHANGE SEX FOR THE BIKE. Contrary to what some have believed, I did not give up the goodies, in fact he was thinking I would but got upset after I didn't but he was trapped in his word so had to give me the bike. So I ride with a clear and clean conscience.
Who knows what else will happen, just on my bike alone? One day, I will have a bus pass again and even further in the future I will once again have a car. But this time around, it will be in my name. And I will have the money, in cash. I decided on the Nissan Versa, slightly upgraded from the bare minimum because I can't drive stick. I can work and save that kind of money once I have a salaried position...who knows when the Lord will bless me with one of those........
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