Last summer I started off my biking summer with Tour de Brew. It's a great ride through the city. I generally ride this with a few biking friends, unfortunately I was too slow. I told them to move on at their pace and rode it solo. It wasn't a fun ride. At one point I was alone totally down in the west bottoms and then again downtown KC. It wasn't fun. I decided then I wouldn't do anymore team rides. It was a hard decision, because I love riding with my friends. I'm out of great shape and the Electra isn't a fast moving bike, plus it weighs 20+ pounds. Me and the bike are a lot to lug around, especially in hills. My bike riding waned as friends found other people to ride with that had road bikes and were faster. I went on a few rides that were satisfying but lonely.
John even noticed. I had ridden my bike a lot when he first met me. Our first summer together, I rode a 50 mile ride. It was a great personal accomplishment. But I didn't ride it alone, and for me biking is about the company and 'riding bikes' with others.
That was my vision when I bought the Electra. Rides on the trolley trail to the plaza, rides at various lakes and trails in town...and to be honest, the Electra is perfect for that. It became harder to find friends that wanted to go on those rides, our lives were moving on (pregnancies, preferred road bikes, busy with work etc). So it became clear if I wanted to ride, I needed a road bike. With little money to spare, I couldn't afford to buy a new one, so I looked to Craigslist. I bought the first bike I looked at. It was an old Schwinn that had been repainted. I fit well on it. Unfortunately after 30 or so miles a brake popped out and I finished my 50 mile ride, and haven't found anyone who will fix it yet. That was the summer before last. So last summer was the lonely bike riding. John had mentioned a few times around Christmas about buying me a road bike. We can't afford it and so I didn't even think twice about it. On my birthday, John surprised me by saying, "we are going to buy you a bike today. It's what I want to buy you for your birthday." However when I let him know how much bikes were....the sentimate was so sweet. I definitely have a great man, and he wants to make sure I'm happy. I thought about this for several weeks after and at some point was drawn to look at Craigslist again. I found a few bikes and emailed about them. I was the first emailer for both. I went to look at the first and it was too big of a bike. The second bike was a women's trek and the picture of it was very pretty! I was really hoping, praying, fingers crossed that it fit. The price was awesome. And it was a winner. Happiness, riding with friends were mine and John was able to buy me a bike. I was definitely the winner in this situation.
Yesterday I went on a ride with a friend who I hadn't ridden with in a long time. And then I rode the Electra with another friend later in the day. It was a wonderful start to the 2013 bike season. I am very happy!
