Everything is Brighter in the Sunshine

Tuesday’s Bike Ride Commute (11/09/10)

Finally, finally, finally!  Sunshine returns to the Lone Star State, and I get a chance to take pictures of my gorgeous new bike.  After riding Amutha’s blue Schwinn for nine months, I was really hooked on the Schwinn hybrid, a cross between a fast road bike and a sturdier, tougher mountain bike.  When it was time to buy a bike of my own, I considered a Raleigh, like S. has, but I was afraid to spend a ton of money on a bike that might be stolen on campus.  Instead, I went with my heart and bought a Schwinn, then crossed my fingers that it would always be waiting for me where I left it.

Now that I’ve had a few days to get used to riding it, I can say that this bike is a great ride.  The angle of the seat is a little different than the blue bike, but otherwise I found the feel of the new bike to be more or less the same as its blue cousin.  It’s wonderful to have a bike of my own again, to know that whenever I want to go somewhere in town, I can just hop on my two wheels and go.  I’m continuing to enjoy my workday commutes, though I will note that my legs were awfully tired on Tuesday morning, as though there were some lingering fatigue from Sunday’s run or Monday’s yoga.  Whatever—by evening it was gone, and so was the sun.  The big challenge now is riding home without the benefit of sunlight.  At best, it’s dusk when I leave work, and by the time I arrive home, it’s dark.  My strategy is to ride slowly and carefully, and take no risks.  For the most part, there are streetlights and illumination along the way, but it’s still a bit scary riding in the dark.  I’m actually not that worried about getting hit by a car because I ride on sidewalks, but I do worry about the terrain.  That bike helmet is sounding like a better idea every day…