My friend's bike had an unfortunate accident a few months ago. Her bike is her main mode of transportation. When I heard that she was bikeless for the next little while, my very first thought was that she should borrow mine. I don't ride mine as much as I should and it was just sitting in my house. It made perfect sense to loan her mine until she could get another. I dropped of my bike and I was thrilled that someone could benefit from riding it.
Then the weirdest thing happened a few days after my bike was gone - I started to mourn the absence of my bike. I truly didn't expect that to happen. I was physically sad that it was gone. I started to reminisce about when I first bought my bike when I was 19. My husband (he was my new boyfriend at the time) was adamant that I needed a bike and know how to ride. I did not grow up with bikes. I learned to ride when I was 12. That very last year that I lived in Central Oregon I biked a lot. I remember biking all over the small town I lived in. Once my family moved to Portland, I didn't have a bike until my husband helped me pick one out.
I'm a very timid biker. I've never felt at ease on a bike. I often shriek and I wobble anytime I'm close to anything. I did gain greater confidence the season that my husband trained for the Portland Marathon. I would ride behind him on the Spring Water Corridor for 20 miles giving him food and drink, and making sure he was safe and doing alright. Biking slowly behind him helped me learn about balance and control.
I've ridden a bit more in the past couple of years. I invested some money and got granny handlebars and a basket. But mostly my bike just sits there waiting for me. My wonderful bike came back to me a couple of weeks ago. I was thrilled to have it back and I really want to work on riding it more. I think I really needed it to be gone to appreciate how much I truly love that guy.
It's very telling that my bike has never had a name. I love naming objects (I'm typing this post on my laptop - the Reverend Al), but I have never once thought about naming my bike until my friend brought it up. I think that speaks to how disconnected I've been from my bike and riding in general. She suggested that I name my bike Lynda for Lynda Carter. Nope! That just didn't work for me. Besides, I've always felt my bike was a boy.
So running with the Wonder Woman theme, I've decided to call my bike Lyle Bikoner after Lyle Waggoner who played Wonder Woman's sidekick. I've always had a crush on him and he's just so dreamy. When I came upon this name, it just felt right. I'm happy with my renewed sense of love for my bike and I can't wait to see where we go. I've always wanted to tackle a century...
