Biker Chick Grandma

I've always wanted to be a biker chick. Something about life on the open road, with the wind whistling through my hair, with a Harley purring under my body just seems to scream "wild and free". It is probably the antithesis of my life, which is tame and sedate now. Maybe I'm going through yet another mid-life crisis, but in about 3 weeks, my Medicare Card will be in force, so this birthday is having a definite effect on how I view life as it passes by oh-so quickly.

While we were on vacation, I looked with envy in my eyes at the Harley and Gold Wing beasts that we saw in the filling stations and flying around the curves in the beautiful Appalachain mountains, thinking of the freedom those folks had to ride the open road, unencumbered by metal surrounding their bodies. Oh well, reality sets in. Sometimes metal around you is a good thing, and I can't ride a Harley, I can't afford a Harley, and who would I go with? Nobody I know wants to ride with an old biker chick.

So the next best thing is a pedal powered bike. My Sis and Bro-in-law and I went on a famous local trail for a 15 mile bike ride last week. It was nice and flat, and the day was glorious and cool, unlike most August weather in the midwest. We had a great time. I must admit, after a few brews in the local brewpub at the half-way mark of the ride, I was willing to call the sag wagon to pick me up, but somehow I struggled home. That part of the ride wasn't nearly as much fun as the first half! Were we going uphill? Was there really a headwind? It seemed so to my weary legs. But the outing made a little idea that I had been cooking on in the back of my brain spring to the forefront of thought processes, and I had determined even before that ride that I wanted my own bike.

As Monkey Girl professed about her mother, once I get an idea, I usually move ahead and sometimes with speed rapid enough to make your head spin. I knew where I wanted to go to look for a bike, the place where I bought my last bike 30+ years ago. It still struggled to stay in business, and even though the inventory was sort of thin, he had just the bike for me. A "comfort" bike it is called, big wide cushy seat, 27 gears, lots of shock absorbers, no tricky gimmicks to make it go. I don't mind riding a "comfort" bike as opposed to a "serious" bike, I'm going for comfort, not to be a serious bike rider. Pain and I are not on friendly terms, so I want it to be as comfortable of an experience as it can be.

I picked her up last night, but couldn't really ride until this morning. I went to the local park that has a nice flat 3/4 mile circle driveway, that is the local running, biking, walking, doggie excercise path for 1/2 of this community. Luckily there weren't a lot of people walking this morning, so I couldn't threaten many lives with my wiggly steering. But it was glorious! I loved it, and every part of the body was comfortable. I was breathing rather heavily when I was done, but felt good about this new type of exercise.

My motivator to keep this up (besides the charge on the credit card!) is to get that view in the 3 way mirror to be not so horrifying. So it will take more than one day on the track with the new bike. I have high hopes for this new venture in exercise. And BIKER CHICK GRANDMA ain't ready for the rocking chair just yet!