Biker babe

So yesterday I rode a bicycle for the first time in seven years. And for the longest stretch in 13 years. The last time I rode regularly was my first year out of college, when I rode my ninety-dollars-at-Ames Huffy (remember Ames? my friend Walnut worked there one summer and she would smell like Ames for hours after her shift.) through the streets of Burlington and Winooski, VT. Until I forgot it outside ONE night and it got stolen. A Huffy. I mean, come on. But it may as well have been a Cannondale; 90 bucks was that out of reach for me then.

After the bike got stolen I would walk from my apartment in Burlington all the way to the Grand Union in Winooski. This involved going up and down one very ginormous hill. Then I would stand for hours in the deli. When I worked the closing shift I was in charge of announcing when hot case items and doughnuts went half-price. People would linger, waiting for my call.

But I digress. For whatever reason, I do not purchase big-ticket items. Like, ever. No snowshoes, no cross-country skis, no stereos. And no bikes. I've lived in this mindset of broke for so many years that I feel like it's irresponsible of me to spend money on anything, ever. Because I have zero trust around being fiscally sound. Just one more thing to work on.

But I digress a SECOND time! Geez.

The whole point of this post is this: Yesterday my friend L lent me her bike and helmet and rode with me on from Arlington to Bedford, about 15 miles, on a bike path. It was exhilarating. I'm fast. Two dumb boys passed me and then slowed down, which irritated me, but their slow was pretty speedy, and I decided to let them hang on to their balls--it was Sunday, after all--and didn't on-the-left them.

While I was waiting in the parking lot for L at the end of the ride, some passersby pointed out a red-tailed hawk perched atop a nearby high rise. When I got home, there were tiny bugs stuck all over the front of me, like I was a windshield. I think I must have gotten bugs in my teeth.

All in all, it was pretty sweet.