Someone in NC has been diligently reading my bio. Maliheh? Right operating system, device and browser, wrong part of the state, unless she moved there or is temporarily staying there. 

Went to Walmart early yesterday morning and found the PERFECT bike for me! It’s a Kent La Jolla gearless cruiser with just one speed. Even though it has 24” wheels like my old bike, the seat can go lower so it fits me well. :) It’s gorgeous too; light blue with yellow accents. Gonna take a picture of it when the sun’s up. I’ll shoot it just outside our carport so it will have the cypresses in the background and no street names, house numbers or license plates. 

I was browsing through the racks of bikes looking for something small enough for one that’s short. Nothing with a bar in the middle that’d be too high. I considered one in royal blue and turquoise and even one in red and black. Then I glanced upwards and there it was. The perfect bike. I’ve never seen one so pretty and decorative, though my old pink and purple bike is still pretty. It’s got a blue and yellow plaid design on the seat and a matching one on the chain’s cover. The frame is blue and the spokes are yellow. I also love the basket it’s got in front because that way I can throw my towel and smartphone in it when going to and from the pool. 

Because the Caddy has a trunk and not a wagon like the Ford, the guy had to take off the handlebars and front wheel in order to fit it in the trunk. Tom reassembled it for me as soon as we got home. 

At first I thought it would be weird and take some time to get used to back-pedaling to stop the bike since that’s how it’s done on this one. There are no handle breaks at all. It’s no big deal, though. Tom said that was once how all bikes worked and that’s all he had as a kid. I don’t remember this, but he is 8 years older, LOL. 

As my shit luck would have it, I was tired by the time we got back with it so I didn’t take it very far. It rides so silently and smoothly! It was like I was gliding over the road. I braced myself for those speed bumps and said to myself, “Hang on!” but it ran over them a lot smoother than I thought it would. I’d probably get jostled if I went over them at a faster speed. That’s the only annoyance I may face around here is all the damn speed bums in the park. They’re mostly on perimeter streets and busier streets. Circles, dead ends, and side streets don’t have them. 

Anyway, I can’t wait to get out there again. I’m curious to throw the Smarty in my basket with the running app going and see how long it takes me to do my longest-running route where I don’t just go around the perimeters but zigzag through side streets as well. I was like a little kid riding her first bike on her own again, LOL, wind whipping through my hair, totally enjoying the sense of freedom the bike gave me, etc. 

While the bike will mostly be used to take me to and from the pool, I may alternate between running and riding for exercise. It not only gives me better variety, but different activities work different muscles. Running works my quads better while biking will work my hamstrings more. What I’ll like better about biking is that I don’t have to worry about loose undies that may shimmy downward as I run, or jarring my joints and boobies, or what shoes I wear.