The title of this blog is simple savings and that's what it was intended to be. Fate has had other ideas and so now I'm turning this into a vindication of cycling rights.
I don't really know where to begin. So I'll start with the first memory of my first bike.
I don't really remember the type of bike it was, but I do know that I was old enough to ride bicycles.
And I loved riding this bicycle really, really, really fast.
I remember one time I was showing off for my friends. Knowing what I know now about bikes, I must have been doing at least 12 miles an hour. I was racing down a small but steady downhill when my front tire was displaced buy a small rock in the middle of the road. The Rock itself was maybe the size of a small marble, but it was enough to cause me to crash and send me flying over the handlebars, into the rock border that surrounded my grandmother's yard.
Luckily my bike landed in the nice soft grass , so it didn't suffer any damage. (Sarcasm)
I lay they're convinced that I was dying and asked the onlookers to please go and inform my mother of my soon demise. The site of my body laying somewhat mangled on the rock border was enough to move her to exclaim " I told you not to ride that bike . Now get in the house if you want dinner."
I upgraded to a lovely banana seat, later down the road.
Truly the envy of the neighborhood kids. One little girl was so insistent that she be able to ride on the bike seat with me, that against my better judgement I allowed her to sit on the back where she promptly got her foot caught in the rear wheel . this sent her parents into a frenzy and the little girl was ordered to never ever play with such a dangerous child as myself.
After that we moved and my bicycle mysteriously vanished.
I didn't get another bicycle until I was in high school. It was a hybrid.
I was attending monterrey bay academy at the time. A private Christian school. Its main selling point for me was its private beach just south of Santa Cruz.
I used my bicycle to sneak off campus and get Taco Bell. The campus only served poorly prepared vegetarian food. It took a few years of detox before I could eat salad again.
After the earthquake that toppled the bay bridge, I used my bike to cruise around Watsonville and survey the damage done.
I was involved with the red cross relief efforts but that was organized through the school and we rode a van into town.
Even though I was experiencing freedom on my bicycle, it never occured to me that I was experiencing freedom on my bicycle.
When I attended Sierra View Junior Academy, I had to borrow a bicycle to participate in the rocky hill bike race. I won first place in my division. Most likely because I was the only girl in my division.
And there ends my relationship with the bicycle up until now.
Between times I owned and rode a sweet Virago 1100.