I bought a bike last night. I did! I did!

I bought a bike last night.  I did!  I did!

This is a weird year for me.

It's the first year I've lived alone in my whole life.

This is the first year I've had space to myself, and privacy.

And the first year (naturally!) that I've had a little bit of discretionary income.

I planted a tiny vegetable garden this year.  First time in a while.

That felt weird.  If I am happy with the outcome, next year I'm going

to triple the size; And branch out into a wider range of plants.

I've purged so much stuff out of the house to create space and air and light

that the Salvation Army and Goodwill just LOVE to see my truck back up to

their delivery doors.  I'm keeping the piano, cello, guitars, mandolin,

books and cooking stuff.  Pretty much, everything else is going to go. 

(SPACE!  she says, "I need SPACE...!")

Fifty-one years old, and I'm gonna regularly climb back on a bike...

For transportation, for health, for fun, and to reclaim the freedom to move.

Wilka, YOU are now free to move around the planet.

(and how cool is that?)

Do you remember the thrill of being at the top of a hill on a hot summer day,

Knowing that when you were halfway down the mountain, you'd lift your arms

above your head and positively SWOOSCH! down like you were flying?

When you could hear the wind rush past you?

That's what I want again, from the magic memories of being 9 again.

Part of me (the old, feels-fragile part) keeps whispering:

"What if you fall?  What if you break a hip/shoulder/elbow?"

The, don't-want-to-be-fragile part of me sneers and snickers right back:

"Chickenshit!  If you fall?  Just roll!  What are you turning yourself into?

Do you want to be Stupid and Timid?" 

Hmmm...Since I like that part of me better,

I'm going to listen to her.

I do not want to fade to weak and grey and stuck.

I had decided the old bike (30 year old racer) "wasn't up to speed..."  LOL!

Used up: slightly rusty, nicely dented and scratched-well, kinda like I am.

So, I invested in one for myself, a regular CCaaddiillaacc of a bike.

And I intend to reinvent myself to match my bike.

I'm going to be a ccaaddiillaacc of an old woman.

Strong and smooth, flexible, full of motion, blood pumping:

Look Out!  Here I come!  Whoa!  There I go!

I'm going to pack my camera and stop whenever I want to

(how many times have we "missed" a phenominal shot

because there was no place to pull over?)

So, look for some "pix from the bike seat..." in my future posts.

I want to grab the grandbabies, and do all day rambles downtown.

Show them all the incredible buildings, the parks, the side streets.

UCity, The Loop, Grand Avenue, Lindell, Forest Park, 

The Arch and Riverfront.  Life. 

Now, all I have to do is gear it for the grocery store runs, and

The Target Store / Hardware Store runs.

After I figure out a safe bike route to get to work,

I'll be riding it to work, too. At least 9 months out of the year.

Why do I feel like this is a freedom thing?

I don't know.

But I feel 10 years younger this morning,

Happy, excited, and well, shit!  ...almost perky!

And all because of a bike.

How sweet is life sometimes?

Wilka