Bikes, Bikes, Bikes and Bye Bye Car

Wow, I am accumulating bikes.  First living in the mountains it was a mountain bike.  Upon moving to Denver years ago I began the gradual accumulation of a skinny tire cruiser bike, a road bike, then a fat tire cruiser bike, then restored my old mountain bike from college (everyone needs a “no one would want to steal this” bike) and now a single speed.

What can I say, I love bikes.  I love the idea of not driving.  I love the freedom from traffic.  I love getting around on my own power.  I love the sun on my back and a cool morning breeze.  I’ve accumulated messenger bags, horns, lights, reflectors, racks, and more as part of this lifestyle.  Yet lately I haven’t been riding as much.  Excuses excuses excuses… here they come.  My felt cruiser bike is perfect for cruiser bike rides but the truth is the darn thing is heavy.  I found that out when I tried to put it on a wall rack.  Not my brightest moment.  My road bike is too over the top.  It’s a road bike with clip in pedals.  I don’t want to carry around a change of shoes for running errands and I also don’t want to leave it out on the street even with a lock.  I figure it’s only a matter of time before it disappears and I’d prefer to save it for long weekend rides.  My skinny tire cruiser bike (a black Electra Amsterdam) is for sale on Craigslist (if you are interested I’ll cut you a deal) to make room for the single speed.  I’m babbling but the fact is I’m hooked on a low maintenance light weight single speed for buzzing around town.  I’m checking out the bikes around town (Pearl Velo has a pretty cool local shop to check out btw) and have pretty much made up my mind.  Soon it will be in.

So ONE MORE bike.  I’m making the leap more official this time.  My own vehicle has just been gathering dust.  Except for the occasional dog transport, mountain trip, or heavy errand I really don’t use it.  So I’m giving it up and renting out my parking space (more than pays for a single speed) and embracing a car free lifestyle.  I’ll still have access to my vehicle (I’ll have to bike to it) but it will be in far better hands most of the time.  They say downtown life is car optional.  I’m going to give it a shot.  Of course I still have my $1 to fill up the tank scooter to buzz around on as well but for the most part it will be bicycle wheels or my own two feet that will get me around.  Summer is a great time to start and get some healthy habits in place before the winter returns.  At that point I’ll be spending that parking money on winter riding gear.

So fellow cyclists wish me luck.  I’m taking the next step.  Bye bye car.

And for those of you who are as upset as I am with this whole BP debacle this follows a philosophy of reducing dependence on oil.  They say that boycotts don’t do anything because BP doesn’t own the stations.  The way I look at it, and this is just my opinion, we are all guilty in the situation we are in.  As a society we have ignored our own responsibility as consumers who have created such incredible oil demand and support the irresponsible action of oil companies and government with our dollars every day.  If we really want to make a difference we need to look for a different way to live.  This is a small step.

P.S. Can we please build a train to the mountains now.