Adventures with my bike

I was in the forest, following the 7 year old on the bike path.  The hill was steep and his little brother struggled up it.  I was tagging behind, ostensibly not to lose the kids- after all, watching them was my responsibility- but the honest truth was that this hill was about as hard for me as it was for the four year old.  He stood up on the pedals, leaning in to keep going.  

When I was a kid, we lived at the top of a steep, gravel drive way.  It wasn't ideal for riding bikes.  So I never really progressed to the "look Mom!  No hands!" stage of bike riding.  I'm getting there now, but balancing while standing is a feat I still haven't mastered.  

Despite that, my bike has become one of my new best friends.  The fog creeps over the river in the morning, and frost paints the bushes white.  My ears freeze, especially since I misplaced my hat.  I steer to avoid the potholes, and smile as I pick up speed on the hill right before I reach campus.  My half hour walk has been shortened to a just over 10 minute bike ride.  

On a drizzly day, when I finally arrive I'm slightly damp, my hair frizzy.  Riding in the rain is hard.  I blink, trying to keep the raindrops out of my eyes.  I momentarily consider wearing swimming goggles when biking in the rain, and then wonder if maybe a hat with a visor might work just as well and not look quite as strange.

We laughingly call ourselves a "bike gang" when there's a group of us together.  We ride through the town square in the dark.  It's empty this late at night, and the group of us all headed home in the same direction call back and forth to each other as we ride through the silent streets.  There's something magical about riding at night.  When everything around you is obscured, you feel like you're gliding, almost flying in the dark.

Unfortunately, with the cold comes ice and snow, and I think I'm still too new to the world of cycling to brave those conditions on the way to school each morning.  The bus might just replace my bike for a season.  But for now, in these last few days of fall, I'm still enjoying this new bicycle life style.