So what is my new hobby that has turned out to be Lindy's newest "flavor of the month?" (I promise I will explain what is meant by the whole "flavor of the month" thing). Most people who are in my real, every day life have seen the photographic evidence, others on Facebook have been subjected to the same photographic evidence, now it's time to go public. I got a new bike!!!! Here she is pictured below with me. Isn't she pretty?
Her name is "Jenny." That's right. She has a name but I didn't name her. Long story short, I had decided I wanted to get a bike so that I could combine exercise with spending time with my boys. I have real issues with exercise and they go like this: 1) I don't like to get up before the crack of dawn to exercise before work since I already have to get up at 6:00. 2) I don't want to join a gym because I work and that just takes more time away from my family. 3) I haven't been able to run since I was 15 and had a hairline fracture in my left ankle. (I know all you die hard runners are laughing right now and it honestly is probably an excuse at this point). 4) I would rather watch paint dry than to actually walk for exercise. I am a tremendous multi-tasker and so to walk just to walk is almost unbearable to me. I can't hardly watch television without folding a load of laundry or making a grocery list. So, bicycling turned out to be something I thought I could do that would serve more than one purpose and I don't mind adding things to my life that have multiple functions.
So, the search for the right bike began. If you know Lindy and me, you know that we are both researchers, and since he loves research for the sake of research he was right in there with me. He was also ready for a new "flavor of the month" so I wasn't surprised that he was right there with me. We went to numerous bike shops, we searched the internet, we compared bike styles and functions, we sat in our loft area with me on the desktop computer and him on the laptop reading reviews aloud to each other. (Isn't this insight into our exciting lives just absolutely thrilling)?!! I knew already that I wanted a "comfort bike" with a large seat. That's part of the reason I wouldn't ride the mountain bike that had been housed comfortably in our garage for the last 17 or so years. I wanted a bigger seat and I knew I wasn't planning on actually "mountain biking" or bike racing so I found the perfect, beautiful bike for me. (I am fully aware, Gia, that real cyclists will not take me seriously and I'm OK with that). The picture doesn't do it justice. It's turquoise with pink and white polka-dots. It also has a white seat with daisies on it and pink spokes and a bell and...it is just so cool and, apparently so Robin!! No lie, after I got it I had neighbors and strangers alike wanting to know how to get a bike like mine, test riding it, etc. Even my gun-toting, deer-hunting neighbor climbed aboard and took her for a spin. He even rang the bell!! His wife and I were so wishing it hadn't been dark already so that we could have gotten pictures. OK, I digress. My bike is made by the company "Electra" which is out of California and I had to order my bike. Honestly, they just don't have many beach cruisers in the middle of the country and each bike store has only one or two for you to even test drive. I'm not going to go into the technology that makes my bike special, but you should know that it comes in like 15-20 different styles. Mine happens to be called the "Jenny."
How does Lindy's newest "flavor of the month" play into all this? Here's some further insight into my husband. He gets bored easily. Fortunately, he hasn't gotten bored with me or with his vocation, but other than that if he isn't learning something or trying something new or finding a new hobby to get involved in then he gets bored. He doesn't like to read fiction like I do. He wants to read something of substance that teaches him something. He doesn't even like to read my blog unless it's about him or unless I include some lesson to be learned. If I tried to list all of the hobbies and interests he's had over the years I've known him, it would be a list longer than my arm so here are the ones that have actually stuck with him: Computers, skiing, gardening, and hopefully now, biking. We've also gotten involved in various MLM adventures through the years like New Image vitamins (that one was actually me), Mona Vie, Visalus, etc. He has gone through the phase several times of wanting to get involved in investing in real estate. Each time a new flavor has come along to steal his attention away before he actually pulls the trigger on any houses (how's that for mixed metaphors), but I expect that one day we will own more than just our house and a timeshare. The problem with the man, and you'll think I'm exaggerating here, is that he is just so talented that once he feels like he's learned something and mastered it he loses interest. A little of that has rubbed off on me over the years, not the talented part, but having to master something. When we were newly married a flavor of the month for him at that time was playing Tetris on the computer. (We didn't have kids. We had time to play games on the computer). I had never even heard of Tetris but I wanted to learn to play so he taught me. I became obsessed with getting better at it than him and so I played...a lot...until I had wiped out all ten of his top ten scores. To this day, I don't think there's been anything else where I have actually been able to beat him. Now I realize that by the time I was able to get good enough to wipe out his top ten he had already moved on to the next thing and left Tetris in the dust. That realization just dawned on me as I'm typing this and I find that to be really funny. Honestly, I wouldn't have Lindy any other way. I wish I had some of the money back from flavors that didn't last very long, but I appreciate his need to be challenged. He only had trumpet lessons as a kid. He taught himself to play the drums, the guitar, and the bass guitar and those have stuck with him too. He took piano in college, but didn't do well with that instrument. He can play one song on the piano: "Almost Paradise" from the movie "Footloose." Don't ask me why because I don't know. He's pretty amazing, but I guess I'm partial.
Anyway, once I got interested in buying a bike, and full disclosure here, I did tell Lindy that I would like for him to have a bike too so that we could ride as a family; he was ALL IN. And when I say that Lindy is "all in" I mean that he is committed and he is going to have every accessory known to man to accommodate his new hobby. So, as we settled on buying my bike from our friend, Bill, at the bike shop where he works, Lindy settled on the bike he wanted. (Bill is married to my dear friend and employee of 11 years, Margaret). You won't be surprised when I tell you that we bought Lindy's bike and brought it home before my bike was even officially ordered. Also, that day we bought a bike rack that holds four bikes for the back of the van. That was a necessity. Later that day...you knew there was more to this story, didn't you...Lindy was "adjusting" Jac's very-good-quality Honda bike that we realized was not adjusted well for him (we're bike people now after all, we know how to fit a person on a bike). As Lindy took it on a little test spin he somehow ended up bending the frame. The chain fell off and something else happened, I'm not sure. It's all a blur right now. Anyway, I ended up going to the pool (this was the last weekend in August) and off went Jac and Lindy to the bike store. Of course, they called me while I was poolside and said that Jac's bike couldn't be fixed so Jac was getting a new bike. This was fully expected by me. Also, in the midst of all of this bicycle adjusting, Lindy realizes that ETHAN'S bike is too small. Ethan needs a new bike now. Back to the store they went (this was a few days later) and now Ethan has a new bike. Gavin didn't get a new bike but he has learned to ride without training wheels since the last time I blogged. Yea, Gav!!! So, we are a cycling family. Did I mention Lindy and his bike accessories? I really shouldn't make fun of anyone else and their accessorizing, now should I? But, I will anyway. Granted, his birthday occurred in the midst of bikeapallooza, so I told him he could get a bike computer. He picked one out and it tells you the speed, how far you've traveled, how long you've actually ridden on the bike, etc. We all also have helmets, of course, he and the boys have the water bottle holders and water bottles from the bike shop, he has a black carrying case for the front of his bike, we both have bike jerseys and padded bike shorts. Need I go on? Oh, I also ordered a pretty white basket for the front of my bike but it hasn't come in yet. Anyway, we are having much fun with bicycling and I honestly hope that this flavor of the month sticks. It's good exercise, we can all ride together as a family, Lindy can ride with his friends, etc.
I mentioned in the title of this post that it would also be about facing my fears, but due to the length of this current post, I'm going to make that discussion Part II. So, you'll have to return later to read about what kind of fear I'm talking about, the equally good and challenging part of being married to someone who counsels others as part of his vocation, and the continued saga of bikeapallooza. Hope you've enjoyed Part I.
No comments:
Post a Comment