My Most Controversial Post Ever

Okay...now that I've got you in the door, let me tell you what this posting is really about. My new bike! I love it.

Last year I did the really stupid thing of, knowing I needed more aerobic exercise and liking biking (a mini-poem there), I went to the local Wal Mart and bought me this dopey bike that was designed with the same weight distribution and aerodynamics of a Studebaker. And not the Studebaker Hawk (a finemobile if there ever was one). I tried my Studebaker-ish bike three times on the local bike path and was winded after a half mile each time. Simply ridiculous. When I lived in Vermont, where the scenic bike trails abound (thanks by the way in part to Howard Dean), I used to bike 6 and 8 miles in one direction, then turn around and bike back.

The Studebaker bike was a disaster. So for the last year I've been thinking I needed a real bike and did some asking around. Where can I find one that didn't cost an arm, a leg and a left testicle. Someone I work with sent me to a specific bike shop and this last Saturday--a really rainy day--I bought me a Raleigh C-30. Doesn't look like much in the photo, but it's very nice. I think it's safe to say that it's on the low rung of good bikes.

Sunday the weather broke enough to where I headed down to the bike path for my ride. It was FABulous. I did the 2 & 1/2 mile round trip without even getting winded. I only stopped because the mist covered my glasses to the point I couldn't see. I finally have that feeling that my bike doesn't stand between me and getting some good exercise.

Weather reports say we have three days of off-n-on rain starting tomorrow, but I can hardly wait for the weekend. And lest I end this, my most controversial post ever without hitting on politics, I think you should know that I really don't like George Bush.