Rollin For A Reason: Post 1

Hello!

Thank you for taking some time to read, connect, and support. It’s a lot of fun to do things that inspire you, but it’s even more fun to do things when you’ve been inspired by others. Sometimes I think my friends know me better then I know myself. My friends, if you’re reading this, thank you. Family if you're reading this, I plan on writing about you in another post, for more reasons than one you deserve your own. For now, thank you.

The Idea:

Moving to Chicago has given me the unique opportunity, at an ideal age, to take stock of my habits and really figure out what behaviors I wanted to grain into myself. I was lucky to be blessed with parents who prioritized fun family time, exercise, and experiencing the world. Throughout the years we had taken countless bike trips to the beach, for charities, on vacations in other states, and even centered a whole vacation around time on the velocipede. One particular trip we spent a week camping and riding through Banff National Park in British Columbia, CA with Backroads. It was the best. Riding through the mountains was an experience that I will cherish. The views were expansive, shifting from wide open country side to soaring peaks still white tipped with glacial remains.

At night we made camp as a group and slept under the stars. Waking up usually meant one thing, more riding. Besides for the day our site was visited by a tribe of moose. Those things were the size of a Jeep. It was unbelievable.

I live a stone’s throw away from Lake Michigan, and being able to wake up every morning to the awe-inspiring shoreline would have been enough, but the city of Chicago has done an unbelievable job keeping the Daniel Burnham park complex that runs along the shoreline from the South Side of Chicago all the way up the coast to the north side in amazing shape. There are cook outs when the weathers nice, miles of hard paths, and even a cycle cross trail to train on as well. Not only is it an ideal route to commute on, but it’s been a free education into the biking culture. The riders who pass me have inspired me to learn and ride. The city itself has a tangible respect for bikers, lining the roads with ample space and clearly demarcated biking path.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal Robin Williams attributed his love of biking to the feeling he gets in the saddle, specifically it being the closest humans will get to flying.

A quick ‘would you rather’:

1. Be able to fly

2. Be invisible

Your answer says a lot about who you are and what you value. Riding a bike is so liberating. Bikes have a storied history and their role in influencing our city culture should not be understated. The technology, the machine, the accessorizing, all provide ample material for inspiration. For me biking has been a way to be outside, to exercise, and to plug into the feeling of manipulating a machine in a way that is environmentally friendly and I love it.

The Bike:

When I first moved to Chicago I had a whole month of free time to explore my new city. I was leaving my old job as an audit associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers and looking forward to my current position as a Corporate Accounting Analyst with Groupon when I, due to the weather and my proximity to the path, decided to buy a cheap bike and ride. I bought a road bike from the 80’s for about $100 and really enjoyed myself for two weeks. I decided to clean it and sell it so I could upgrade. I sold it for $175 and bought a Specialized Rockhopper with no suspension from the 90’s. The retro mountain bike was so fun. Hopping curbs exploring my new city was an amazing experience but I soon realized that I missed the feeling that comes with a road bike. The command in the saddle, going further distances at faster speeds, the responsiveness and the posture was all too appealing and it beckoned my return. So I sold that bike for $250 and bought my current bike. At the time, it was a fixie. I had seen all the ‘cool kids’ riding in retro fitted fixies and there seems to be a real enthusiasm for the fixed gear, one speed, bikes for urbanites. They were light, they facilitated a connection with the road, and the Chromoly frame was responsive. I loved it. I rode it as it came for a couple days and realized that the novelty was wearing off and it felt gimmicky. I switched out the handlebars to the old fashioned drop bars and added a 10 speed gearing system, replaced rusty screws and I had myself a beautiful bike. I’ve been riding this bike to work

every day and I really enjoy it. But it just wouldn’t cut it for the type of training and trip I am about to pursue. So I brought it to my local shop at Tamago Bikes and he’s helping me convert it to a beautiful touring machine. When the bikes completely done I will go through a more detailed description of the upgrades I made.

So, my next step is to keep riding to work every day, add a trailer for Archie and get him used to the ride and me used to his weight and start extending my rides (on the weekends and on the way to work). I will keep you posted on my progress.

In future posts I want to talk about Sharsheret, they provided me gear and support. They have made it so easy to change the good idea to the great one. I want to share more details about the itinerary, and include whatever nutritional or other unrelated observations that becomes relevant during this experience. I also want to give big ups to my local bike shop and local bike shops in general. There’s a ton of good stuff to look forward to and I will keep you all posted.

Please if you can afford too, consider donating via the link below. It’s for a great cause.

http://sharsheret.donorpages.com/TeamSharsheret/RollinForAReason/

Thank you!

P.S. - “You’re only one bike ride away from being in a good mood.” - Unknown