When in Doubt, Ride the Bike #
Bicycling has long been part of my life. My dad was an avid cyclist, who spent most weekends going on long rides with friendsUsually with a food destination in mind. before regaling us with a slide show of their exploits. He’d also semi-regularly take cycling trips. Although I didn’t catch the cycling bug to quite the degree he’d have liked me to,Disc golf was my obsession during my teenage years. Granted, I would ride my bike to the course after school regularly. we still did go on a wonderful trip to Scotland when I was 15 or 16.
Despite that, I have always owned a bike and always regularly ridden one. From Baltimore, to Palo Alto, to Amsterdam, and now to Seattle, I’ve been very fortunate to always commute by bike (with a public transit recourse when needed). And I have always done the occasional long ride as well.More on some loooong rides this past summer at some point in the trip reports section.
It’s the time of year where The Big Grey has recently taken over in Seattle and, with it, the debate on when to hop on the bike versus when to ride a bus (or even—gasp—drive). Since I’m on sabbatical at the moment, that debate is happening less often.
Last night, however, I was heading out for a social gathering at a local brewery. It had already been dark for an hour, it was raining off and on all day, and I was pretty tired physically and mentally. Very tempting conditions to be “lazy” and take the bus.
But I decided to use the occasion to put the roll-up fenders on the bike, turn on the lights, and get a few miles in. It was lovely! There’s something very meditative about coasting through the wet, leafy, reflective roads with the hood of your rain-jacket pulled over your helmet.Living in Amsterdam was good prep on how to be prepared for riding in the rain, with a shell, pants, gloves. I feel like I’m in a little moving cocoon, just me, myself, and the breath moving through the world; partially, but not fully, exposed to the elements.
It was a small act, but I was so happy to be riding instead of inside a vehicle. It was my annual reminder of a truth that I’ve learned many times while riding in the rain in Seattle: I never regret riding instead of a different mode.
When in doubt, ride the bike.