As I mentioned a few months ago (welcome to slow blogging, as if anyone reads this), I said I might be up for a bicycle ride. Years ago, 2005 to be exact, gas prices in Topeka went on a sudden spike and I purchased a “commuter bike.” At the time I was a correctional counselor at a women’s prison. This prison was on the opposite side of town from me and the trailhead to the Shunganunga was near my house. All set, I rode off to work.
A few weeks later gas prices returned to normal. A few months after that, I quit the job at the prison, which I truly hated. A year after that, I deployed to Kosovo for a year. The bike went into storage. For years.
Fast forward to May 2021. The bicycle remained in storage all that time and most recently was under the deck and exposed to the elements the last two winters. I’d thought of selling but never did. Then one day I got out of the shower and took a good look at myself in the mirror. I did not care for what I saw. A few days later and the bike went to the Santa Fe Trail Bicycle and Coffee Shop.
Imagine my surprise when the staff told me I had a really good bike! They called it a Trek 7200 hybrid. It did need some TLC and I had a serious tune-up with many replacement parts. Twenty-four gears, added some saddle bags, and really bright LED lights ( I mean like motorcycle bright). The shop did good work and bringing it back to life took only about $400. The next day I took it on a ten mile spin about town and followed this with several trips to work and back. Now it seems to ride like new. I did have to add a new seat as my butt was going numb.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve more or less given up on the idea of being a distance runner. At some point there is just too much damage and too much time. I’m blaming most of it on wearing body armor in my forties. It is very unlikely that even with significant weight loss that my back will ever allow me to be a serious runner again. But we’ll see where the Trek will take me.
