Better off Bikeless?
Writing about cycling is pretty easy when you have a bike. To be fair, you can still follow the sport, and keep up to date with the latest makes and models from the top manufacturers, but for me there is something about actually being on a bike that inspires me, and makes me want to write.
So, when my bike was stolen recently, it rather sapped my source of inspiration. Somehow riding the train is less fulfilling than cycling, and walking to the shops just isn’t the same as pedalling. And we all know that the exercise you get from actually riding is far superior to anything that can be replicated in a gym!
I am still bikeless, though I have recently bought myself a set of roller blades to try and fill the void. I’ve used them once. I am fully aware that I need to just get on with it and buy a new steed, but there is a small part of me that feels better off without it.
There is an inevitability about owning a bike, particularly in London, that its going to get stolen one day (particulary if you are like me and have chained it up in front of a street of Fulham flats and houses for rent). And of course, newer bikes are bigger targets. It’s always something of a hassle to find somewhere suitable to park up – especially now that so many places technically ban you from chaining your bike up, and yet fail to provide a suitable alternative to the usual trees/lamposts/fences that are now off limits.
That all said, I miss the freedom of my own two wheels. If you’re late, it’s your fault. If you get wet, it sucks but at least you feel like you’ve achieved a little something by cycling wherever you’re going, rather than getting soaked between train station and home.
I miss my bike. I feel emptier without it.
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