Day 392, April 13, 2021

The Open Road

Tonight's soundtrack: Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, The Rockpalast, 2013

It feels like things are starting to change. I'm starting to see some of my peers get vaccinations. At the University we will be returning to normal operations in the fall with some transition back to non-remote work happening over the summer. For the first time in years I'm crafting a syllabus and working out the details of reading lists and assignments. It is hard to imagine, but it feels like soon we will be returning to a semblance normalcy, or whatever our new normal will be. 

In preparation for this new normal, I have been eyeing e-bikes. The road to the university is basically a straight shot 10 miles from my house, but it is a fast road with stretches of 50 mph, and of course people drive faster than that, so it is not really the most pleasant ride on a bicycle. I had the thought that I could ride as little as possible on Rt. 63 and cut back through the hills of Leverett and have a much more pleasant commute, but it would be quite a bit longer and entail more hills. I haven't quite figured out how convenient it would be to find a place to shower after a vigorous ride, so there is a lot of uncertainty about how all that will work. Heck, I still don't officially have an office yet.

Researching e-bikes is a bit of painful process at this stage of the product. There are lots of startups producing a wide variety of shapes, styles, and outfitted with every imaginable accoutrement. Every reviewer seems to gush over the latest bikes until you dig a little deeper, read a few more customer experiences... it is like anything in today's internet world, the rabbit holes are deep and wend off in every direction. E-bikes range from expensive to really expensive, and so it is a hard thing to contemplate swallowing, and especially with the return to work still months off, I was not really in a hurry to commit. But on Monday, on a day I took off from work to do taxes and work on my class, I discovered someone selling a used e-bike nearby. Before finishing breakfast, I had agreed to swing by carrying a plastic sandwich bag with all the money from my instrument sales. So, now, propped up on its kickstand by the kitchen table, is my new-to-me four year old Tesla of bicycles. 

It is a monstrously large thing and seems so odd in comparison to the lithe road bike I've been using all these last few years. I did take it for a little test ride on a road by the farm fields of South Deerfield. It reminded me of that time I was shopping for a car and tried out a Saab 9-2x (which was a Subaru WRX in different clothing) and nearly flew down Rt. 5 and 10. It was the same price as the Honda Hybrid Civic I was looking at, but required premium fuel and had half the miles per gallon. I had to go with the more sensible choice, but the Saab was certainly fun! 

So far, all I've had is that little test ride, but even in that short jaunt I could tell it was shifting more precisely than my road bike. Even on a wet day, it was stopping with the certainty of a sports car. And, it was surprisingly easy to get used to. You could say it was almost driving itself. Ha!

My friend, Brian, chastised me for even thinking of an e-bike and called it the opposite of getting in shape.  Perhaps, but maybe it will get my nerves back up to riding longer distances again. After a year off the saddle, I wonder if one truly never forgets how to ride a bike. But I really more worried about my sedentary ways. No walks across campus, no daily up and down flights of stairs. I worry my legs would give out on the first large hill I encountered. 

So now, I need to test my routes and the reserves of the battery. The next few weekends will hopefully be taken up with exploration and mapping, and hopefully, if I do get stranded somewhere I'll have enough cell service to call for a pick up.

Here's to hoping for more signs of our return to life,

Leo