Bikes are Great!

Like most people who love bikes I didn't grow up riding in lycra or even know what a derailleur was until about 8 years ago. My parents had bikes that changed gears but that didn't mean much to me. I was always more interested in finding some pile of dirt to transform into a jump. Or, if it was big enough, a table top. My first real bike, and I still consider it that today, was a Redline 220. It was a low end bmx bike that cost $200 and I remember I saved for what seemed like 1,000 years to buy it. The guy at the bike shop told me I could spend another $30 and get a Dyno something that was better. But I didn't care, I like the Redline and I had enough money for it on the spot. Didn't he realize how long it'd take me to save another $30?

I don't often speak very highly of where I grew up but one perk that even I can't bash is that we had plenty of access to trails, open fields and in some cases heavy machinery we had no business operating to build a new bmx track whenever we wanted. There were about 8 of us that would split up and make teams of 2 or 3. We were inspired by the movie Rad which we'd watch religiously and dirt bike racing, which we all wished we were doing but were too poor to afford motorcycles. Team Green (Kawasaki), Big Red (Honda)and Suzuki, if the other two got picked before you had a chance, would all work together to build a track and then race in 3-4 up matches. A lot of the cyclocross racing strategy that I employee today I learned on a bmx bike trying to pass my friend or get the whole shot. I'd do almost anything to get my Redline 220 back.

I remember one summer I had a job cutting the grass at my dad's church. Man I hated that job. But one day I decided instead of getting driven out there I'd just ride my bike. It couldn't have been more than 10 miles thinking back on it now, but on a bmx bike with a single gear ratio of something like 33x15, it took a while. It seemed like it was so far, but I remember the sense of accomplishment when I got there. At the time, I never would have guessed that a bike would eventually lead me around the perimeter of the US in 2006.

To me, bikes are beautiful. From the incredibly simplistic and clean track bike to over engineered full suspension mountain bikes and time trial rigs, bikes are beautiful. Because of that, I will watch just about any video that has something to do with cycling. My wife makes fun of me constantly for it, but the bike geek in me just can't get enough.

The bike world is incredibly diverse and I should be the first to admit that sometimes that diversity drives me insane. At times I want there to be some sort of outlaw on guys on hybrids with day-glo jackets clogging up my commute to work by riding a top speed of 12mph and swerving all over the place just to try and remain upright. I realize that's incredibly selfish and I'm working on it. Those guys have just as much a right to enjoy the bicycle as I do.

Today I saw the video below. It is absolutely amazing to me what some people can do on a bike. The bike handling skills and control that this guy has is absolutely amazing. To me, it's equally as impressive and no less brave than sprinters rubbing elbows at 70kph (~42mph for those of us in America). It's seeing a video like this or reading an update about the work that Richmond Cycling Corp is doing as they work with under-privileged Richmond youth and use cycling as a vehicle to do so that simply reinforces just how great I think the bicycle is.

Watch this video and be amazed. Watch Milan-San Remo this weekend and be amazed. Go to the Richmond Cycling Corps website and be amazed. But, don't forget to get on your bike and remember what it was like to ride as a kid.

A Hill in Spain from chris akrigg on Vimeo.