Chapter II

Every ride home the past few months has been miserable. It's hotter than most folks can even imagine here. There have been dust storms that have turned day to night and thunderstorms that soak you to the bone then disappear within a matter of seconds almost. Yet every day I think about riding. Is this what addiction is? I always thought of myself as immune from addiction. I've tried smoking but get bored with it after a few weeks. People have mistaken me for an alcoholic but I've gone without drinking plenty of times and only missed it a little. So why can't I stop myself from riding?

In August/September of 2008 I bought my first bike. It was the first time I'd even ridden a bike since I was probably 10 or 11 years old and I didn't think much of it at the time. Honestly I bought it because I was tired of walking to school in the heat. Soon it became part of my commute to my previous job. It was stolen in the summer of 09 and a few months later I bought my second one. When it was stolen I didn't even care that much as I was planning on getting a car anyway. Time went on and I grew more and more weary of riding. It got to the point during the holiday season of 2010 that I pretty much quit riding all together.

Then something happened. I started to get fat. I've never been a very vain person but I certainly didn't want to be fat. My diamondback that I had bought a year and a half earlier had lost a pedal and I was left with a spindle (the pedals were those cheap plastic rubber ones that I never bothered to replace). I took it to the shop the last week of January. By this time I had quit my previous job and was left with the one I'm currently at. Once I took it to the shop for a little tune up and pedal fix (the spindle was stripped from previous removal attempts) I began to get a little excited at the prospect of riding again.

The very next week I began doing the full commute that I still do today. I realized that my attitude toward riding had made a complete turn around and now I can't seem to think about much else. Well, much else accept maybe getting a motorcycle ;)

Chapter 1

As soon as I finished putting together my fixie I took it out for a spin in the parking lot of my apartment complex to get a feel for the new riding style. It was a strange feeling, almost nostalgic. Isn't that what a six year old will do when he or she gets a new bike for christmas or birthday? I'm not saying that I felt like a kid again, it's more like I felt different. I've never ridden any of my other bikes around a parking lot. When I bought them I rode them as briefly as possible because I don't like people watching me ride (ironically) and didn't even try to get it properly adjusted. So why did I enjoy myself so much in my own parking lot? Is it a territorial thing? I could accept that if I didn't end up riding through the neighboring lot as well. Fewer eyes on me that know exactly what to look for? That makes sense as well but the residents that were out coupled with the fact that I know exactly what to look for cancles it out. So what is it?

I pondered this thought briefly before I accepted the explination that the feeling came from riding something I made myself. I wanted to ride it. In fact the next day I even changed out of my pajamas just to go out and ride it around some more. I haven't left the lot yet, but I haven't really felt any sort of need to. Sure I could be scared of traffic and pedestrians and not being able to stop or dismount in any sort of attractive way yet. But that didn't stop me when I got my first real road bike and clipless pedals, I still wasn't accustomed to the integrated shifting yet.

This is an extraordinary phenominon that isn't explained because so few people even find themselves in a similar situation anymore.

Prologue

I haven't been a "cyclist" for that long. I've only been riding a fixie for a short while. What this has taught me is that one doesn't have to necessarily dedicate their life to finding themselves in order to, you know, find themself. I've been riding my entire life, but it was only recently that I was able to stop blaming my bike for all my woes. Since then I have spent many hours pondering the humble bike and all that it can tell someone who is willing to listen.

I don't expect someone to read this, hell I would prefer if no one did. I just like to write and in this digital age we're in, I find my wrist gets more sore each time I try to hand write something. It's an unfortunate inconvenience since notebooks are much cheaper than computers, but I wont deny that something good could come out of this.

This manuscript is nothing more than a compilation of the thoughts that run through my head as I ride. Sometimes I'll be experiencing the so-called "zen thing" that those hipsters are always talking about while I ride my own fixie, sometimes I'll be enjoying the smooth ride on one of my other bikes, but I will always be on a two wheeled mechanical wonder machine.

Do not expect regular updates.