I was born and raised on a bicycle...ok, that's a figure of speech. But, bicycling is what we kids did all through my childhood. There were no tricks back then--just plain and simple no gear, then three gear, then, finally the ten speed. I was seventeen when I owned (and lost) my last personal bicycle. I did ride my husband's bike for a season about thirty years ago. (We've been married just over forty years).
I'm sixty-one now. And I just bought a new bicycle!!!!!!! Actually, I've wanted one ever since my husband's broke down. I mean like really wanted one. Even had it on a list once. I finally crossed it off the list when I fully had given up on the idea of ever riding one again.
What was it holding me back from just getting one? ......the helmet! When I was a child, helmets had not been invented. I have a very broad face and I cannot stand anything on my body that's tight anywhere. I buy my eyeglasses too big--they do slide constantly, but--very important--they don't hurt.
So, I just couldn't bring myself to try out bicycling again, all because of not wanting to wear a helmet.
And then, just this year, along came my son, Orion. He is into bicycling big time. I hadn't seen him for six months, and when I visited him last summer in San Francisco for a few hours, what did we do? He drove me all around the city and up into the hills along the exact course of his forty mile bike loop! I was glad to let him drive. It was a foggy day, and we couldn't see too much.
So I knew my son loved to bicycle. When he invited the whole family up for Christmas, we all gladly accepted. As a gift, my son rented us all bicycles for the day, and with a little cajoling, off we went. That's all it took. I was hooked. I made up my mind to buy myself a bicycle. About three weeks later, I did.
But the helmet...I had been wearing my helmet so loose in San Francisco that it had been sliding around my head a little. Plus, I was wearing it tilted back. In the bike store, I had my bike all picked out and it was up at the cash register. Then we went to find a helmet. The salesperson put one on my head, and I started screaming and protesting quite loudly. Too tight! Too tight! "It has to be worn that way," he said, "or else if you fall, the helmet will get knocked off and do you no good at all."
So we tried a different model helmet. Finally, we made a deal. He would put the bike on hold for me, I would buy the helmet and wear it around for a few hours. If I still wanted the bike, I could come back to get it.
That worked, and I bought the bike.
To Be Continued
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