Biking in Chicago; a first attempt

All week I have been counting the days and even hours until this Saturday morning. It was my first chance to take my new road bike out for a ride. I haven’t ridden (I mean seriously ridden) since I moved to the United States, because I sold my bike in the Netherlands to make the move across the ocean. Three and a half years later, I was aching to get back on the road. Biking is my meditation and stress relieve, and it’s been a long time without meditation.

I was very excited about the quality of the bike and the deal I got. But this morning, in about ten minutes of riding, that excitement turned into disappointment. I went from thinking I got a high-end bike to thinking I got a piece of shit.

As I biked about 15 blocks north along the lake front, suddenly the crank got loose and fell on the ground. It looked like a screw or bolt was responsible for the trouble and I didn’t recover it, so it must have fallen out earlier. So with 10 minutes of biking north came 30 minutes of walking south.

It was 7:30 a.m. and about 35 degrees Fahrenheit, so only the real bike devotees were out and about. As I was walking southward with my bike in hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of Chicago bikers. Nearly every single one of them asked if I was doing okay or if I needed any help.

That really lifted the spirit and this afternoon I’ll bring the bike to the shop to have it fixed. Deep down I know it’s still a quality bike, I was just a bit unlucky starting off with a problem like that. But tomorrow’s another day.

18 November 2006 | Across the board, All things Chicago | Comments