Turtle on Wheels

CHICAGO (AP) - The vital sporting goods sector received a huge boost from Bush’s economic stimulus plan this week, as people used their checks to buy much needed athletic gear for the warm weather season. Says Chicago cyclist Harriett Green, “I can’t believe how far that check went toward buying a bike computer and a jacket. It truly restored my faith in the American economy.”
In other news, the unemployment rate hovers near 6 percent, crude oil reached a new high of $121 a barrel, and home foreclosures are up 57 percent from the year before.

THIS, my dear readership of two, is why it was worth it for me to take a midnight train ride straight out of a Stephen King novel (a less-than-packed train running across deserted Illinois prairie with an insane girl on board? If things had gotten violent, it merely would’ve been the logical degeneration of an already bad night):

Okay, this picture was taken last summer on the north side lakefront but it makes my point: I finally took out my bike on this sunny morning for a short but incredibly invigorating ride down Chicago’s south shore of Lake Michigan. Since this was my first time on a real bike in four months, I just did a warm-up ride–four miles round-trip from my place down to the South Shore Cultural Center Nature Sanctuary at 71st and South Shore. It was perfect weather, sunny with a moderate breeze and temps in the 50s, and the lakefront path wasn’t crowded at all.

Now before I embarked on this ride, I did a little bike maintenance–treating my bike chain with degreaser and lube and pumping back up the tires–just to get it working again after a long winter storage. But after I returned, I knew that I needed to take it in for a full check-up. So I went down to Blackstone Bicycle Works, a local bicycle shop in my neighborhood of Hyde Park (and perhaps the only one, given that overpriced Art’s Cycles thankfully appears to be out of business). I particularly like Blackstone because bike repair and retail is only a small part of its mission: Blackstone Bicycle Works is also a non-profit community initiative with youth and after-school programs on bike riding and maintenance, and it also runs an active recyclery program that refurbishes discarded bikes. The shop’s one major drawback is that it’s only open in the afternoons, so I imagine mostly local folk frequent it.

Using Blackstone works out great for me, because it’s located directly behind my office and I can pick up my bike right after work. The guy who helped me said that my bike was in pretty good condition overall, with just a few things to adjust or straighten. But I ordered the more expensive tune-up anyway to cover all of my bases.

So after a brief reunion, my bike and I have parted ways for another week. But in the meantime, I plan to be at the gym every day this week, because spring has finally arrived and D-Day is approaching ever closer. . . .

I just spent more money than I care to think about at REI.com on more biking gear: who knew that just bike shorts, a jersey, and bike gloves could cost almost as much as a month’s groceries? Of course, the purchase of quality clothing and equipment is necessary when embarking on a long athletic event like the MS Bike Tour, and there are actually pretty good sale deals at REI, Team Estrogen (guess who their target demographic is), and EMS, among others.

I’ll also be taking my bike to the nearest (good) bike shop this weekend–either Kozy’s in the South Loop or Irv’s in Pilsen–for some tune-up work and adjustment. And while there, I’m hoping that they can fit my bike and me for clipless petals and shoes (flies buzz out of the wallet . . .). But it’s all worth it: It’s important that I fulfill my commitment to the MS Bike Tour to the best of my ability and moreover, I anticipate that my biking adventures are only just beginning.

Also, I just want to give a huge thank you to my contributors so far! Call me corny, but you guys and everyone else who might donate are my motivating teammates in this effort for the MS Society, and I can’t get it done without you. And now back to figuring practice bike routes that involve the least risk of getting hit by crazy Chicago drivers. . . .