Yesterday, I had a shit-eating grin as I was winding through local streets, pedaling and feeling the warm breeze in my hair.
I recently, in the last month, moved to the DC area and have been struggling to fit in and find my place. This month, Ty and I got our own room in a place that we share with a few others that are our roommates in our new town. But there are still so many things that are missing in my life. I need yoga, rock climbing and freedom to get around on my own. On Tuesday afternoon, I took that first step at transportation freedom in the form of a two wheeled vehicle.
I took the metro to Virginia which is a bit of a ride from my new home on the Maryland side. I stopped at one of the last metro stops and walked out into the sunny, nice weather. I was meeting someone from craigslist who was selling a little, red Schwinn bike. I exited the station and immediately saw the little red bike being held up by a sweet looking, older man. I introduced myself, took the bike for a spin and immediately fell in love. Red = passion. I haven't ridden a bike in awhile and moving fast and feeling that nice warm air on my face awoke something in me that I had almost forgotten. I love that active, free feeling of riding a bike. You can go faster and further than your feet can take you. You can ride slow and take notice of the surroundings or you can ride fast, feel your heart pounding and see the blur of things going by.
Needless to say, I wanted that bike, even though it wasn't perfectly sized to me. It was listed for $140 which was on the cheaper side of DC craigslist bikes but I only brought $100 with me. I rode the bike up to the old man with a huge grin on my face and told him I had $100 I could give him right now. He said "well, sure." So I handed over my crisp bill and went on my way.
I was ready to take the bike on the metro back to Maryland but was stopped at the gate by one of the "metro police" and was told that during the rush-hour times I couldn't take my bike. It was 15 minutes after that time started. "what am I going to do?!" I said aloud...
I went back outside and my bike was admired by an older man who said "thats a great bike!" over and over again. I felt proud of my new purchase!
I walked around the metro station for a minute but knew what my plan was. I was going to start biking home. It was about a 2 hour and 15 minute bike back to my house. I figured I could lay down some ground by the time sunset came around.
I found a bike path that was absolutely gorgeous and ran along the river. I felt so strange without my helmet but was so happy being able to ride fast. My heart was beating and I was creating some heat. I needed to unzip my outer layer to let some air cool me off. It all felt great.
I saw a group of people sailing on the river, I rode past the airport and saw some planes land, I rode by some monuments and saw tons of different people commuting home from work.
Ty was able to pick me up as it started getting dark and cold and finish taking me home. In all I rode about 11 miles and an hour and a half on my first bike ride on my new bike. Im going to name my new bike Red. Red = passion.
I recently, in the last month, moved to the DC area and have been struggling to fit in and find my place. This month, Ty and I got our own room in a place that we share with a few others that are our roommates in our new town. But there are still so many things that are missing in my life. I need yoga, rock climbing and freedom to get around on my own. On Tuesday afternoon, I took that first step at transportation freedom in the form of a two wheeled vehicle.
I took the metro to Virginia which is a bit of a ride from my new home on the Maryland side. I stopped at one of the last metro stops and walked out into the sunny, nice weather. I was meeting someone from craigslist who was selling a little, red Schwinn bike. I exited the station and immediately saw the little red bike being held up by a sweet looking, older man. I introduced myself, took the bike for a spin and immediately fell in love. Red = passion. I haven't ridden a bike in awhile and moving fast and feeling that nice warm air on my face awoke something in me that I had almost forgotten. I love that active, free feeling of riding a bike. You can go faster and further than your feet can take you. You can ride slow and take notice of the surroundings or you can ride fast, feel your heart pounding and see the blur of things going by.
Needless to say, I wanted that bike, even though it wasn't perfectly sized to me. It was listed for $140 which was on the cheaper side of DC craigslist bikes but I only brought $100 with me. I rode the bike up to the old man with a huge grin on my face and told him I had $100 I could give him right now. He said "well, sure." So I handed over my crisp bill and went on my way.
I was ready to take the bike on the metro back to Maryland but was stopped at the gate by one of the "metro police" and was told that during the rush-hour times I couldn't take my bike. It was 15 minutes after that time started. "what am I going to do?!" I said aloud...
I went back outside and my bike was admired by an older man who said "thats a great bike!" over and over again. I felt proud of my new purchase!
I walked around the metro station for a minute but knew what my plan was. I was going to start biking home. It was about a 2 hour and 15 minute bike back to my house. I figured I could lay down some ground by the time sunset came around.
I found a bike path that was absolutely gorgeous and ran along the river. I felt so strange without my helmet but was so happy being able to ride fast. My heart was beating and I was creating some heat. I needed to unzip my outer layer to let some air cool me off. It all felt great.
I saw a group of people sailing on the river, I rode past the airport and saw some planes land, I rode by some monuments and saw tons of different people commuting home from work.
Ty was able to pick me up as it started getting dark and cold and finish taking me home. In all I rode about 11 miles and an hour and a half on my first bike ride on my new bike. Im going to name my new bike Red. Red = passion.
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