I realy like rideing my bike in the mornings, when the air feels kind of crisp and the streets are almost completly quiet. Sometimes I start out too fast and my legs gets tired quicker then I expected, but I just keep peddling anyways beacuse it feels good to be outside. The sun is usualy still low, casting long shaddows from the trees that line the rode and the houses with there small yards.
On weekends me and my friend usualy meets at the corner and decide which way we are going to ride that day. We dont always agree about the best route, one of us wants the flattest possible path and the other one insists on climbing all the bigest hills for the sake of so called “training”. Sometimes we argue a bit, but in the end it doesnt realy matter witch way we go because we both end up exausted and kind of happy.
There is a long bike trail near by that used to be an old rail road track before the city turned it into a path. The gravel is mostly smooth but ocasionally theres loose stones and sticks laying around that makes the wheels wobble a little. When we pass other riders, some of them nods politly, others just looks straight ahead like they are very serious profesionals in the middle of a important race, even if they are actualy just going pretty slow.
One time I forgot to pump my tires and they was so soft that every bump felt like I was draging the whole bike through mud. I kept thinking to myself that I should of checked the tire preasure before we left, but by then it was already to late and we were far away from home. My friend said it was “good resistance training”, but I am prety sure he was just laughng at me on the inside.
Another day we decided to try rideing in the light rain, which sounds romantic but actualy gets pretty cold and soggy after a while. The water splashes up from the back wheel straight onto my jacket, leaving a long dirty stripe that never totaly comes out in the wash. My glasses fogs up, the brakes squeel, and the chain makes a creeking noise every time I shift gears too quickly. Still, there is something strangely relaxing about listening to the soft hiss of the tires rolling over the wet pavement.
When I first learned to ride, I was so nervous that I kept staring down at the front wheel instead of looking ahead of me. Because of that I would swerve all over the place and almost ran into the mail box a couple times. My dad kept saying, “look where you want to go, not where you are afraid you might crash at”, which sounded like a confusing philosofy lesson but eventually started to make sense. Once I finaly learned to trust my balance, the whole thing felt way less scary and much more funner.
Now I also pay more atention to the sounds around me while I am rideing. In the park you can hear little birds chirping, kids shouting in the playgroung, and dogs barking randomness from behind fences. Sometimes a car rushes by too close and the whoosh of air makes me grip the handle bars harder then necesary. Cars are supposed to give bikes enough room but they dont always do it, so I try to stay as visible as posible even if it makes me look slightly ridiculous with all the bright colors.
I have been thinking about getting a new bike, maybe one of those fancy gravel ones with disc breaks and extra wide tires. The problem is that I am easily distracted by shiny gear and might spend more time reserching specs then actualy riding. There is always some new component that claims to be lighter, stronger or more erodynamic then last years model. If I am honest though, the biggest improvment I could make would probably just be pedaling more consistantly and not eating so many snacks right before we go out.
In the end, riding bikes isnt really about having the perfect equiptment or the most optimised training plan. It is more about the weird little moments, like when you suddenly smells fresh bread from a bakery you didnt even knew was there, or when a random stranger shouts “nice bike!” as they cross the street. Even when the weather is wrong, the seat feels slightly crooked, and my legs complane the entire time, I still usualy feel better after a ride then before it. That is probably why I keep going out, even on days where staying home sounds more sensible on paper.