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22 miles per gallon. Gasoline was costing about $ 4.00 a gallon, like I said. Bloomington was about 18 miles away. This made for a 36 mile commute. Therefore, it was costing me in the neighborhood of $ 7.00 a day for the privilege of going to work. My plan, in my humble opinion, a win-win scenario— not only would I save money but I would gain a motorcycle. But, in the end, it still added up to“ You are not getting a motorcycle.”
That was some years back and gas prices have gone down and my commuter situation is a moot point because I retired from work... but I still haven’ t retired from good ideas or post-mid-life crises. In fact, being a frugal sort of individual, I hate to waste a good borderline personality disorder. So, this year I shifted my brain into“ D”( that’ s for Devious) and started moving forward with a new plan to get myself on two wheels.
Over the years I have done some good things and some bad things for / to my overall health. One of the good things was that I quit smoking. But that caused a bad thing, I gained a few / many pounds. And then there was a small problem with my back, but that was taken care of with some surgery and a few months of recovery and I gained a few more pounds. And this is where the deviousness kicks in— I need to lose the weight. And to lose weight I need to get some exercise.
It’ s an indisputable fact. But how do I go about shedding this extra poundage? My“ bad back” precludes any twisting, jerking, bending, etc. so I won’ t be doing any“ Sweatin’ to the Oldies.” Besides, I don’ t want to wind up looking like Richard Simmons anyhow. Running or jogging is out, unless I am being chased by something that is more than likely to bite me.
I could do water exercise but that would mean goin’ into town to the“ Y” and changing into a bathing suit and jumping into the swimming pool and then probably getting all embarrassed about being yelled at for displacing too much pool water. Nope, I’ m not going there. I am going bicycling.
Yep, bicycles have two wheels. They are customizable. And it would be an introduction to just how safe and responsible I can be on two wheels. But, this is where the plan gets bogged down a little.“ What kind of bike do I get?”
Things have changed since I was young. There used to be bicycles and 3-speed English Racers. The real choices in bikes were more cosmetic. You could get built-in headlights and / or a horn or a tank built on the cross bar. The bike could be dressed up with streamers on the hand grips and / or mud-flaps. That was just about it. But, when I started looking for the right bike for me, I discovered a close-to-infinite array of choices.
Now-a-days there are Cruisers, Road bikes, Mountain bikes, Commuter bikes, Hybrids, and E-bikes. They come in all colors and sizes and speeds from 0 to 50. I was stunned. I didn’ t know what I wanted. But, I knew for sure that I didn’ t want any bike that would force me to wear some kind of outfit that looked like a Spandex sausage-casing.
I did like the sound of the E-bike, though. The“ E” stands for electric which powers a motor and the motor can be engaged to assist in pedaling or just zipping along. I could definitely see how an E-bike would be very satisfying to ride. But when I checked into the prices of said conveyance my wallet got a serious case of the cramps. What I was still impressed with is the fact that some of the E-bikes sported 4” tires.
Now, I live some miles down a“ rocky road,” which is a good thing because it keeps me from even trying to ride one of those road bikes with ¾” tires and required sausage-casing suits. But a bicycle with 4” tires is a whole’ nuther thing. It would be perfect for getting around, not only on my road, but half the roads in the county. So, I started looking for plain“ Fat Tire” bikes.
And that is just what I got. It is not real plain, in that it has 18 speeds and disc brakes. Its name is Boris. I didn’ t name it, it came that way. It’ s a big bike with tires that look like they belong on a 250cc dirt bike. But instead of a 250cc motor,“ Boris” is powered by a 225 pound retiree. I’ m thinkin’ that after I have demonstrated my trustworthiness on“ Boris,” I just might graduate to an E-bike and from there … who knows? Right now, though, I think I might ride over to the little store at Needmore and see if they might have any“ Rocky Road.” •
46 Our Brown County Nov./ Dec. 2016