Shedding some baggage
Two miles to Starbucks in Vinnin Square on the Specialized Globe
I got a "HNY" text message from a friend I used to bike with a lot a few years ago. He used to kill me on the hills and flats. His life kind of took him down a few different paths and he hasn't been on a bike since the 2010 Pan Mass. Challenge, when a bunch of us rides took the party boat back from Provincetown.
He now lives in the next town over, and he asked to ride this blustry morning. We arranged to meet at my house at 10:30 a.m. It took me a half hour to dress for the cold: warm-weather cycling tights, four layers on top, winter gloves, two pairs of socks, a dickey around the neck.
He arrives a few minutes late, no helmet or cold-weather tights, riding an ancient green Raleigh with an Amherst Bicycle Shop sticker on the downtube.
Turns out, I had met this bicycle when it came in for service at Marblehead Cycle a few weeks ago. The shop's wrench, Johnny R. and I had several discussions about it, how to get the rust off the handlebars with Never Dull, and whether it was worth it to bring it back to life.
Strange that my old friend would show up on that bike, which is now 50 years old and was actually built in England, unlike today when they don't make them like they used to.
Instead of riding my steel frame Red Allez road bike, which is no speedster, I hopped on my black Specialized Globe, a bike that looks more at home on the streets of Amsterdam than those of the North Shore of Boston. It also blended better with my friend's Raleigh. My bike features an 8-speed internal hub, a self-powered light with a generator in the front hub and, best of all, a bell that goes "ding." We swung by his new house, I said "hello" to his wife and new puppy, and we booked it to Starbucks. I wound up riding the wrong way down Tedesco Street trying to cross it.
So, while I did not work off the winter weight today, I did catch up with an old friend, and shed much of that uncomfortable baggage you acquire when you don't call someone for a while.
He now lives in the next town over, and he asked to ride this blustry morning. We arranged to meet at my house at 10:30 a.m. It took me a half hour to dress for the cold: warm-weather cycling tights, four layers on top, winter gloves, two pairs of socks, a dickey around the neck.
He arrives a few minutes late, no helmet or cold-weather tights, riding an ancient green Raleigh with an Amherst Bicycle Shop sticker on the downtube.
Turns out, I had met this bicycle when it came in for service at Marblehead Cycle a few weeks ago. The shop's wrench, Johnny R. and I had several discussions about it, how to get the rust off the handlebars with Never Dull, and whether it was worth it to bring it back to life.
Strange that my old friend would show up on that bike, which is now 50 years old and was actually built in England, unlike today when they don't make them like they used to.
Instead of riding my steel frame Red Allez road bike, which is no speedster, I hopped on my black Specialized Globe, a bike that looks more at home on the streets of Amsterdam than those of the North Shore of Boston. It also blended better with my friend's Raleigh. My bike features an 8-speed internal hub, a self-powered light with a generator in the front hub and, best of all, a bell that goes "ding." We swung by his new house, I said "hello" to his wife and new puppy, and we booked it to Starbucks. I wound up riding the wrong way down Tedesco Street trying to cross it.
So, while I did not work off the winter weight today, I did catch up with an old friend, and shed much of that uncomfortable baggage you acquire when you don't call someone for a while.
posted by Ethan Forman at 8:54 AM
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