

I come from a car family. I took the wheel at age 12, tooling around my dad’s ranch, and got my driver’s license immediately after school on the afternoon of my 16th birthday (and a car to go with it). Just to give you some perspective, my parents purchased a car for me when I was 15 and unable to drive it independently. Car people. As you will see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Given my history, I’m naturally a car person, or at least I used to be a car person. At this point in my life I can’t really keep that title because I’ve got a kid, kid friends and 2 dogs that travel with me all the time. Having a vehicle I care about is just not an option in this chapter of the story, but that doesn’t mean I’m OK with it.
There was a stretch of time from my 16th birthday up to about 2005, when my only car of choice was cherry red and obsessively waxed to the third power. During that time a few white cars drifted through the mix, but though bereft of color, they were incredibly sporty. I guess you could say I have a deeply rooted self-esteem problem with my need to get noticed on the road.


Enter The Bike. Just because I can’t be stylish during carpool DOES NOT mean that I can’t inject some swag into my transportation somehow. As a newish resident in one of the most bike-friendly communities in the country, I carefully plotted a solution for my vanilla-on-wheels conundrum. My old bike was way decrepit and not even me. I basically bought it umpteen years ago to hang out with a guy I was dating. If you’ve ever seen central Texas, where I lived at the time, biking hours are limited to everything outside of the 8:00-8:00 time span. Then there are the hills. So the whole idea was shot, but I lugged that bike around for 20 rideless years. Once we moved to Colorado the weather and climate were much more suitable for bike adventures, but my ride clearly was not.
I get asked a lot if the bike, which primarily serves as the header photo for this blog, is actually mine. In looking at the page now, I can see the sliver of the image is only the essence. I am happy to say that the bike IS mine and it’s pretty awesome! In the words of my new friend, Alpha Runner, it’s Sunshine on Wheels. Just looking at it makes me smile.
The Electra Daisy 3i is a 3 speed cruiser. It’s tricked out with a wicker basket, dingy bell and a handlebar sunflower. The tires’ treads are even special, as they’re formed out of hibiscus flowers. WOW! If you haven’t, consider taking some time to check out Electra Bicycle Company and all their amazingly engineered and designed cycles. Truly inspiring!


Another really fantastic thing about living where we do is that 1. My town is still relatively small, so I live close to a lot of stuff. 2. The weather is kind during the summertime, and one can bicycle pretty much any time of day (save the fleeting afternoon thunderstorm). 3. It’s F L A T. 4. The city has constructed 29 miles of paved bike trails and almost every street has a bike lane. 5. Biking is a thriving culture here, and people are not actively looking to run you over.
That said, I am chomping at the bit to get back out there. Once the weather turns in May, we’ll be biking most every day to and from the school and gym at least, possibly the dentist, several restaurants and anywhere else we feel like exploring. Needless to say, I get to work on my fitness outside and my gas bills go way down when the temps heat up.
© 43fitness, 2013