If you know me or if you’ve read this blog for any length of time…a redundant statement since only people who actually know me even know this blog exists…you’ll know that I’m one to ride a bicycle on occasion. And I’ve talked a lot about both the technical aspects of the bicycle itself and the joy of what I see while I’m on it.
But maybe I missed a step here. Maybe I missed explaining the “why” beyond the experience.
So how about we talk about that now?
My wife still remembers one of the first times I actually invested in a bicycle that was any better than Huffy-grade. She remembers because, to hear her tell it, I ran off to buy it as she lie on death’s doorstep after having my son. This, of course, is not what happened, but I’ve learned over the years never to argue with her about things like this. If she was on death’s doorstep and I abandoned her to get a bike, well, then she was on death’s doorstep and I abandoned her to get a bike.
But the approximate timing helps me remember that it was indeed early in 1987 that I bought a Nishiki mountain bike when they were still middlin’ decent. And it was on that mountain bike that I have some of my earliest memories of biking in the area near Osan Air Base. At that time, it was even a challenge to get to the expressway to the east of the base, and I remember carrying the bike as I tiptoed among the rice paddies exploring the area. The very same area in which I did this is now covered with buildings and well-served by roads, but in the summer of 1987, it was easy to lose yourself in a truly rural Korean landscape not having to go far from the base.
I took that bike from Korea to Maryland, and then to Hawaii, where I stripped it down and repainted it…but I can’t remember riding it in either place. I got rid of it somewhere on the way to Monterey, where I rode an old Japanese road bike that I barely remember but for the crash I had on it while biking to work one morning. Cracked my helmet (I’ll always remember that helmets save lives from that) and turned one of my palms into hamburger (learned the importance of wearing gloves from that).
I actually rode that bike plenty in Monterey – commuted from our house on old Fort Ord (a distance of about 5½ miles one way) – but never really around the area. Much to my current disappointment. Thinking back on it, there must have been some pretty good riding around there, especially with the pending shutdown of the post – leaving thousands of empty acres of training and range land crisscrossed by trails and roads, largely unused and closed to the public and vehicular traffic.
And that bike was with me when I got back to Korea in 1999. But I didn’t use it. At that time, I figured a mountain bike would be better, so I bought a Korean brand – a Corex – for about $300 (and I only recently retired it as my commuter bike). I remember doing 60-mile rides on that bike, even with its fat knobby tires. It wasn’t much by professional standards, but it got me around, and I put a lot of miles on it throughout the hills of the area.
But I wanted to go farther, so I cleaned up the old Japanese bike and took it out on the road. I was looking to get away from the immediate area of the base, so it worked for me. It was about this time that I realized I didn’t need a mountain bike to get around, and I haven’t had one for any riding to speak of since. That old Japanese bike served me well. It was the bike I rode when I did what turned out to be my only century ride (100 miles) in about 2000 with two other friends who were riding much better bikes. I still remember getting separated from them about 75 miles into the ride and limping home on a hot August afternoon – badly in need of water and completely out of money to buy any.
This bike (and the Corex) made it back to Texas with me, but didn’t get much use. I was ready for an upgrade, and got a good deal on a Motobecane Century Pro through bikesdirect.com. And then I proceeded to not ride more than a few times for the rest of my time there.
It wasn’t until I got back to Korea and had retired from the Air Force in 2008 that I started to get out again. I’ve written about some of that time here. In those early times I thought 1,000 miles a year was a good deal (and I distinctly remember shutting down for the winter once it got too cold for me). That’s not the case anymore. I find myself surprisingly doing more every year, even as I get older.
But here’s the deal. Now that I’m up for it – now that I know the joy of riding and want to do more of it – I find my strength is waning. Just last weekend I did about 79 flat miles and I might have been able to do 100…but I’m not the kid I was those years back when I bought that Nishiki.
And so, I write this in part as a warning, but more as an exhortation. Get a bike. Use it. Do it while you’re young (if you’re young), but do it if you’re old too. As long as you know to temper your expectations. I’m certain that having a bicycle (and riding it regularly) has prolonged my life if at least making it of a much higher quality. I’ve marveled at the things I’ve been able to see for sure, but I know I’d be significantly heavier and suffering the related maladies right now if I didn’t get out there on the bike.
And my wife knows it too. I can tell because when I disappear for 6 hours on a Saturday she really doesn’t mind. I think she’d rather have a disappearing husband than a husband who was all too much there (in substance). Perhaps she knows that for every hour I’m out on the road, she gains another day with me on the other side of it.
And that’s a “why?” for you. Get a bike. Live longer. Enjoy that life.
