on the trail again

I can’t tell you how little I know about bikes. From where I sit on the outside of people into biking, it seems like Bike People know all about gears and tread and alloys and repair kits. Until Wednesday my only bike was the one I bought from Cheryl for $75, when she was moving back to Canada. That bike has served me well for a few decades but has been banged up and tossed around a few too many times. Now I finally have a new bike.

In Lexington, we live right on the Minuteman Bikeway, one of the most beautiful bike trails in the US, extending from Cambridge to Bedford. Our family didn’t get our bikes out until after we had been in Lexington for more than a year. Bart decided it was finally time to teach the kids to ride and he bought them each a used bike. There was lots of training in parking lots. It didn’t take Tucker long before he was chasing me down on the bike trail, but Tessa was more hesitant. Bart kept saying that we needed to get me a new bike someday; he had visions of family biking trips through New England.

When Bart was diagnosed in Aug 2017, treatment changed the pace of life but Bart continued to commute by bike to his work near the Alewife for as long as he could. For Bart, still biking through treatment was a way to retain his humanity. By June 2018, Bart’s health was turning and he became determined to be the one to teach Tessa to ride. He bought each kid a new bike that actually fit them, and with actual brakes, and spent hours with Tessa getting her comfortable on a bike (Picture and video here). Later that summer, Bart was too sick, and we did not ride anymore. The bikes collected dust, making a cozy haven for spiders and leaves nestling into our garage.

Last summer I kept saying that I was going to get the bikes out again. We tried to ride a few times but the tires were as limp as my knowledge about how to fix them. I got out pumps without needles and confirmed that staring at a bike seat is not a means to adjust its height. I was resisting having to become a ‘bike person’ and felt overwhelmed by where to go to get these punk machines ready to ride. Sometimes it just felt like there were too many new shoes to wear. So the spiders got to extend their stay.

This year, as spring arrived, I was determined to not let it happen again. I contacted a few bike stores during the pandemic, but was still stuck. Then Tucker reminded me of the bike store on the Bikeway where Bart used to stop almost every time he rode by. It’s also where he bought the kids’ bikes. I simply have no idea how I forgot this. I contacted Bikeway Source and made an appointment. When Chris came out to greet us, he recognized the bikes and the kids, and he remembered Bart. This full loop was such an unexpected gift; it felt like Bart was still helping us with the bikes. One quick look and Chris suggested that Tucker’s bike was now Tessa’s and we made plans to bring in Bart’s old bikes so we could try them for Tucker. We are in motion again.

The last two days i’ve been out on the Bikeway. How I’ve missed the wind. It is glorious.