I never considered myself an avid biker. Cyclists were nerds that wore tights with diaper-like inserts and spent thousands of dollars on equipment made of material from the planet Krypton. For me biking was purely about the functionality of getting from A to B without having to take a bus, subway or car. In college I used to bike around like a madman with absolutely no consideration for road rules or for the safety and sanity of the people and traffic around me (I am ashamed to admit that I once knocked over an old lady with a cane - while biking on the sidewalk) . After graduation, I did some bike tours in Germany and Scandinavia and began to see the aesthetic potential of cycling.
Nowadays my bike is therapy. Everyday between April and October I bike 18 miles (30k) round-trip from my home to work. During my ride I pass through forests, cow pastures, lakes and canals. I try to steer clear of automobile traffic or people for that matter and just try disconnect for a few minutes. It is not always possible, as I will try to explain in this blog, but the pleasures still, for the time being, outweigh the times where I have to curse like a drunken sailor with Tourettes syndrome.
I hope that by sharing some of my experiences as a recreational and commuting biker, I hope that I can contribute to the cause of my fellow city bikers.
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