My recent passion for bicycling came about like many Americans – during the pandemic. Of course, I have been riding bicycles all my life and I vividly remember when I was seven and I rode my bike without training wheels for the first time. It was terrifying but also liberating!
I got back into bike riding in 2018 when I was given a Trek Earl that was collecting rust and dust at someone’s house. The Earl is a heavy beast – almost 30 pounds of steel. It’s a single speed and (at the time) was all I ever wanted: simple and fun and looked great. It had a 44/17 gear ratio and a split frame body (and a bottle opener!). I used my bike to casually ride around Houston and just have some personal time.
As I kept riding, I enjoyed it more and more and so, I starting tracking my miles. THEN I decided to buy a second bike to keep at my office because I worked in an area of Houston where great trails for walking and biking are easily accessible. Plus, my office is close to where my sons live and the three of us could go riding together after school/work or on weekends.
So, I ordered a State Bike (a 4130 in “perplexing purple”) and didn't give it much thought beyond the State being a nice secondary bike.
But once I had the bike assembled and gave it a test ride around the neighborhood, I was instantly in love! It is much lighter than the Trek (21 pounds v. 30 pounds), had slightly thinner tyres and was also a single speed. But the bike felt so… svelt.
I changed plans and brought the State to my apartment and took the Trek to my son’s place. Then all hell broke loose with the pandemic and I was stuck in my apartment with a perplexing purple bike, my record collection, and my cell phone for work.
And it was around that point where biking changed from being a casual activity to one where I would track miles, challenge my body and mind, and dive deep into parts to make the bike “better”. I'll talk more on the "better parts" aspect in upcoming posts.
TLDR: I like riding my bike a lot.
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