I bought a bicycle today. It's been a long time coming, but I finally just went ahead and got it. There are a number of reasons I got a bike. Partly because of the ecological nature of cycling; partly because of the rising price of fuel; but mostly because I think I put on some "sympathy weight" when my wife was pregnant. I'm talking about for baby number one - like I said, it's been a long time coming.
The last time I owned my own bike was when I was in school, so this evening after the kids were put to bed and the littlest one was snoozing in my wife's arms I headed out for my inaugural ride. Where would I go? Of course...get some coffee.
I've mentioned in the past that most coffee shops and cafes around here close by about 8:00pm. So I found myself unintentionally drawn in to the city centre of Dublin to seek out some coffee.
The ride into the city was great! It was just like being a kid again - only now as an adult being fully aware of how dangerous it is to ride a bike in the city. But that didn't matter. The rush of the wind in my hair, the ability to pass cars in a line, the thrill of going up a one way street the wrong way and the agility needed to ride alongside the tracks of the Luas line. (There's probably some bike safety awareness video discouraging that last one. It probably involved little Jimmy getting his wheels stuck in the track and then getting his head squashed by a tram.)
When I made it the coffee shop I decided to order something different, a little more in keeping with this new zipping-around mobile lifestyle. Usually I am regular latte man. But this evening I became double espresso guy. (I rarely drink espresso - although I may a little more in the future - and I think the last time I had a double espresso was the night before I got married, almost nine years ago. I don't drink alcohol so I think this was probably the stiffest drink available to me).
Anyway, that extra zing this evening gave me the boost to get back on my bike and head back home. Uphill.
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
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4 comments:
LOL! I could see how it would take a double espresso, or in my case a whole bag of Haribo, to get anyone out of Dublin on a bike! Not for the faint-hearted
I'm tagging you Cosmo. Sorry to do it, but you got so excited the last time ... :-)
Blimey - everyone's at it! Even Kerry has been talking about getting a bike. Sounds like fun, though.
I can't wait to get healthy enough for a bike. Doesn't that sound a bit backwards? But as it is, my knees and my body are too out of shape...I'm close though I'm still only walking 3 miles a day! So, perhaps a double espresso will help me out a bit? :)
Thanks for the encouragement!
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