My first ride on my first bicycle was not particularly auspicious. The house we lived in when I was a small child had a steep driveway (at least that's how I remember it). The first time I got on my new bike, I went rolling down the driveway and my mother screamed as I went sailing across the street, and then I crashed into the curb. I do not remember being hurt but the tire didn't survive the collision with the curb.
When I was about to go off to college, I told my parents one night at dinner that I thought I needed some wheels to take to school. They were relieved when they realized I meant a bicycle, and I got a 10 speed Schwinn that I rode all through college. I didn't ride it every day but the two years I lived off campus I did ride it to class some of the time. I never had a car when I was in college.
I didn't have a car in medical school, either, and at some point I bought another bicycle which I remember riding to the hospital the month I did a rotation at the Roxbury VA Hospital. When I lived in Boston, my primary modes of transportation were walking and public transit, but I did ride my bike some.
One summer during medical school I did my obstetrics rotation in Dublin, and after I figured out that they didn't care if we were there or not, started taking three- and four-day weekends. I made three different trips to three different parts of Ireland. I rode the train somewhere, and then rented a bike and stayed in bed and breakfast places along the way. One night I stayed in a bed and breakfast place run by an older lady who was very eager to find things for me to do. She told me I should visit the beach. I asked her where it was and she gave me very complicated directions involving lots of turns and climbing over some fences. I told her I thought I'd have trouble getting there and would probably get lost. She said she'd have her dog Joey take me there. She called the dog, and said, "Joey, take her to the beach," and the dog headed to the end of the driveway and turned to the right. There seemed to be nothing I could do but go with him, and he took me to the beach. This was a rocky beach and as I recall it was an overcast day; this was not the kind of beach where you sunbathe, but the kind where you wear a sweater and walk around with your hands in your pockets and think about death. So I was glad to be there with the dog for company, and when I was ready to leave he got me back to the house and I had salmon for dinner. That was the summer where I learned about topographic maps and if the lines were too close together, it was difficult bicycling.
Later I lived in Durham and used to ride my bike around downtown in the evening, although by then I did have a car. It was the same when I lived in Nashville and Baltimore -- I didn't ride a lot, but I did ride sometimes. I knew where to go and what times of day would feel safe for riding. Then, I moved to Atlanta, and I stopped. It didn't feel safe, so I just didn't ride. That was 25 years ago, and I didn't ride a bike again.
Of course in recent years some things have changed. There's the Beltline, and the new extension of Piedmont Park to Monroe, very close by, and finally the light installed that stops the cars for a safe crossing to the park. Before each of the last several Streets Alive events, I thought this would be the one that I would finally do on a bicycle, but I didn't. Last year I looked at bikes at a bike shop a couple of times, but I never rode one.
Last weekend it was beautiful weather, and we wanted to get out of the house on Sunday afternoon. So Tom dropped Iain and I off at the Beltline on Irwin Street and we walked back, all the way to Ansley and then home from there. It took a couple of hours. The Art on the Beltline installations are still up, and they were fun to see, but this is the thing we saw that impressed me the most:
When I was about to go off to college, I told my parents one night at dinner that I thought I needed some wheels to take to school. They were relieved when they realized I meant a bicycle, and I got a 10 speed Schwinn that I rode all through college. I didn't ride it every day but the two years I lived off campus I did ride it to class some of the time. I never had a car when I was in college.
I didn't have a car in medical school, either, and at some point I bought another bicycle which I remember riding to the hospital the month I did a rotation at the Roxbury VA Hospital. When I lived in Boston, my primary modes of transportation were walking and public transit, but I did ride my bike some.
One summer during medical school I did my obstetrics rotation in Dublin, and after I figured out that they didn't care if we were there or not, started taking three- and four-day weekends. I made three different trips to three different parts of Ireland. I rode the train somewhere, and then rented a bike and stayed in bed and breakfast places along the way. One night I stayed in a bed and breakfast place run by an older lady who was very eager to find things for me to do. She told me I should visit the beach. I asked her where it was and she gave me very complicated directions involving lots of turns and climbing over some fences. I told her I thought I'd have trouble getting there and would probably get lost. She said she'd have her dog Joey take me there. She called the dog, and said, "Joey, take her to the beach," and the dog headed to the end of the driveway and turned to the right. There seemed to be nothing I could do but go with him, and he took me to the beach. This was a rocky beach and as I recall it was an overcast day; this was not the kind of beach where you sunbathe, but the kind where you wear a sweater and walk around with your hands in your pockets and think about death. So I was glad to be there with the dog for company, and when I was ready to leave he got me back to the house and I had salmon for dinner. That was the summer where I learned about topographic maps and if the lines were too close together, it was difficult bicycling.
Later I lived in Durham and used to ride my bike around downtown in the evening, although by then I did have a car. It was the same when I lived in Nashville and Baltimore -- I didn't ride a lot, but I did ride sometimes. I knew where to go and what times of day would feel safe for riding. Then, I moved to Atlanta, and I stopped. It didn't feel safe, so I just didn't ride. That was 25 years ago, and I didn't ride a bike again.
Of course in recent years some things have changed. There's the Beltline, and the new extension of Piedmont Park to Monroe, very close by, and finally the light installed that stops the cars for a safe crossing to the park. Before each of the last several Streets Alive events, I thought this would be the one that I would finally do on a bicycle, but I didn't. Last year I looked at bikes at a bike shop a couple of times, but I never rode one.
Last weekend it was beautiful weather, and we wanted to get out of the house on Sunday afternoon. So Tom dropped Iain and I off at the Beltline on Irwin Street and we walked back, all the way to Ansley and then home from there. It took a couple of hours. The Art on the Beltline installations are still up, and they were fun to see, but this is the thing we saw that impressed me the most:
This is at the Elizabeth Street access point to the Beltline. I'm not sure where all these people came from, but they were probably having a late lunch in one of the restaurants nearby.
Atlanta Streets Alive was on Highland weekend before last. We were on our way home and saw there was a new bike shop that had opened up in Virginia Highland, between George's and Moe's and Joe's. We stopped in and chatted and I looked at a couple of bikes, but I didn't ride any and we headed on home.
Today I'd taken the day off and Tom and Iain are in Florida. So after I'd walked the dog I headed back there this morning. I rode a couple of bikes in the parking lot next to Highland Hardware. I haven't ridden a bicycle in 25 years; I'm glad no one was paying any attention, those first couple of minutes. I bought a bike, and after lunch, rode from our house to Piedmont Park to 10th Street to the Eastside Trail on the Beltline and then on down to Irwin Street and then back. I'm not sure what time it was when I left, but I think it took a little over an hour (including walking up the last couple of hills, close to home, on the way back).
Dinner somewhere on the Eastside Trail? Totally. I'm in, just let me know when and where.
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2 comments:
8^)
Awesome blog Melinda and thanks for getting your bike with us. ride on
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