I really like the Trek and I really appreciate my friend Greg giving it to me . In some ways though a free bike can be like a free dog. I took it up to Action Bikes and put about $450.00 into it, some for maintenance and some for gear like a sunlite rear bag on a rack. About that same time, Coffeegoddess bought a Trike from Action Bikes.
Back in November 2011, I was working kinda close to the house, and I used it to commute to work about a dozen times, before taking a different job across town. After that, the Trek didn't get much use, and Coffeegoddess kinda stopped riding her trike as well. Which is all very sad and wasteful.
Last week, I found a book in the clearance bin at Half Price Books, on bicycle touring. This edition was published in 1987, but the original copyright was back in the late 50s. I love these old books, as much for what they say about how things used to be and can never be again, as for the cool ideas that still work today, but that no one pays any attention to because technology has changed how we see certain problems.
I got motivated, called Greg and suggested we do some riding. A little research turned up a new system of trails the city is putting in along several of the creeks and greenbelts throughout the city. We chose a park more or less between us, met up at 9AM Saturday, and clocked a little over 16 miles in 2 hours 12 minutes. Not fast, but hey, not a couch either.
On Sunday, my legs did not seem sore or anything, so I went out again on the same trail by myself, and went 11 miles in 1 hour 27 minutes. Maybe my legs didn't hurt, but they were sore, as I learned after riding up the first hill on the trail!
