My dad sat me in the seat of his 1966 International pick up with a four speed manual transmission and started teaching me to drive it when I was about 12. My first car was a 1966 plymouth valiant that I bought for $200.00 out in Buffalo Wyoming, it needed a clutch plate then took me all over Wyoming and beyond- as far as I know, that tough little car is still driving, somewhere.
I’m a fairly typical American born in the mid sixties and raised up in the seventies- a car was my destiny, my bicycle was relegated to the shed of history as soon as I got wheels that had an engine hooked to them and an 8 track player in the dash. It was preordained that an American male be eternally wedded to the internal combustion engine. I even became a Diesel mechanic- I was invested!
And now I don’t even own a car.
That is a- strange, not so strange- development for me.
I’ve lived a lot of my life in Northern Germany- and my wife being a German, the push to buy and use a bicycle was always there. She always enjoyed riding hers and, in order to be a part of the family when she’d take the kids on bike rides, I had to ride one too.
I rediscovered all of that, happily remembered the joy of riding through the countryside when it’s just waking up, actually hearing bird song and smelling the fields and life about me and not smelling combusted carbon exhaust. All of that gave me great pleasure and I highly recommend it as recreation.
(On a side note, Germany is replete with bicycle paths and back roads that rarely see anything more than a tractor- your area may vary, be safe when riding!”)
So, I had that big, heavy bicycle for a lot of years, being a big, heavy man, I needed it.
But things change, life changes, we age and the injuries of an active life take their toll as that process takes place. Besides, a bike was great for a cool weekend outing or a quick ride to the store, but you have to be on time for work! That means you need a car.
That and the fact that, with my spinal injuries and operations, well, my right leg was left weaker than it had been. Riding up hills or for hours at a time, often pulling a trailer with kids or victuals- or both, it took the joy right out of that. It’s no fun when you have to fight that pain for days after the ride or grit your teeth just to keep going. In the end, I retired my bike and stuck with the car.
Then life jumped up and smacked me right in the face. I had a heart attack and that ended with me having a stent implanted so my blood could flow. It seems the lifestyle choices I’d been hanging onto for whatever reason were actually slowly killing me.
The doctors said I needed to change my diet and exercise more, as religiously as possible. I can’t walk fast and running has been forbidden to me for a couple of decades, I have spinal vertebrae with no disc, no padding, between them and no one wants to make that worse so- bicycle.
What to do, what to do? I not only had to deal with the cost of a bicycle, how the hell do I get past my leg? That problem didn’t go away just because I have heart disease. Plus, there was and is this growing feeling in me that if I ever buy another liter or gallon of gasoline again, that will be too soon!
I needed some help to be mobile. Sure, we have a completely built out bus service here in Bremerhaven and they run every ten minutes. But there is just more freedom to heading out when you want to- I didn’t want to give that freedom up.
It dawned on me that I would likely get the most benefit if I managed to buy an electric bicycle. Shooo-eee! Those things are expensive!
Ebay was kind to me, I don’t make a huge amount of money, but with a little bit of waiting and some saving, I eventually purchased a used bicycle of electric persuasion.
I no longer own a car.
The bicycle? It’s been a gift sent by the Gods for me, I can truly tell you that. My noble steed is now my primary means of transport. I’m enjoying it, a thing I would not have believed even a few months ago.
Now, when I wake up, I check the weather- It’s typically very rainy up here on the North Sea coast and well, when you’re on a bicycle, that stuff is important. Then I dress for the weather, grab my battery and go. I’m not going to preach, but I am a convert.
Yes, sometimes I get to work soaked- although I can buy clothing to help alleviate that problem and am in the process of getting that together before winter sets in- but I also get to work awake, exhilarated and with lungs pumping good, clean sea air. I also like the idea of living my life as I wish to despite the weather- a throwback to my military days when you HAD to do, no matter what the weather did. Being tough enough to face that challenge is important to me.
Another plus point is the fact that I don’t have to fight with other drivers of cars and trucks because there are dedicated bicycle lanes all the way to work- and there isn’t the animus toward bike riders that I remember from places like Denver or even Portland. (What is UP with that, share the darn road!)
So, I get to work calmer and in a better frame of mind. When I get home, I don’t have to cruise the neighborhood looking for a parking spot for my gas guzzler- the landlord has a lockable shed just for bikes!
My body is thanking me, the right leg is actually gaining strength again because the electric bike I have doesn’t do it all for you. You pedal, there is resistance- that signals the motor to start, but you must put in work to get motion. The attractive thing for me is that if the hill in front of me becomes too hard for me to climb, well, a push of a button and I have a wheel motor that helps me get up it- I still have to work my muscles, get my heart pumping, blood flowing. I can choose how much help I want the motor to give me. Less help, more range but more work.
My wife was sceptical, the costs are high when you don’t have a lot, then she rode mine and came back saying “Wow, my bad knee doesn’t hurt as much when I ride the E-Bike!” And soon enough we found a good, used E-Bike for her too.
There can be some down sides- those things can go FAST and you have to take that into account when going around a corner or coming up on a group of people who are unaware of you. It costs money to recharge the battery, however my energy provider has a “Green Electricity Only” package that I gladly pay for. My electricity is generated through wind and sun. I DO feel better, I think about it every time I ride, the fact that I’m not pushing carbon into the atmosphere.
I’m not sure I will ever own another car, although there are times when it is convenient to have one.
It’s a decision we’re mulling over and there is time to make it- so we will take that time and see what happens.
Thank you for coming to hear about my noble steed with the wire wheels. I can only recommend such a steed to you, it’s brought about nothing but positives in my life.
How did Queen say it?
“I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like”
Have a great Sunday!
Kell