Frankenbike

Since I couldn't pack Erika the Step/Pilates Nazi in my air freight box or one of my suitcases, I've been casting about for some additional exercise options. I already walk the dogs an hour a day along a rather hilly route but that's not enough. I have my OSU student ID card now but I can't use the campus gym facilities until the summer session starts in June.

Taking up bike riding seemed a reasonable option.

There are bike paths all over the place and they are well connected so you can travel for quite a distance without having to go on regular streets. There is in fact the start of a major multi-use path just across the street from my house. By following this path, with a few jigs and jogs, I can actually ride a bike to campus.

But first I had to get a bike.

I started by visiting some of the bike shops in Corvallis. I tested out a new bike as well as a used one, both costing in the neighborhood of USD 500. That seemed like a lot so I decided to think about it some more.

My friend Anne offered to loan me her bike, which she's kept in a clean, dry garage for some years. But it would have required quite a bit of work (labor fees at a local shop) plus some new parts to get it back in working condition. And it still didn't quite fit me. I have very long legs but a relatively short torso so most women's bikes are too short and most men's bikes are too long from seat to handlebars.

I found a used bike on craigslist that fits me pretty well. It is a crap "walmart" type bike, no-name brand, only 16 gears, but someone had done some upgrades to it. It had decent shifters and an extended stem that lifted the handlebars way up. I still had to buy a helmet, fenders (which I installed, having to resort to zip ties in the end because the Frankenbike doesn't have threaded holes with standard diameters), and a cable lock. But for around USD 180 and a bit of work, I now have a working bike. It's quite a mongrel, dings here and there, parts that don't match in style or vintage, the flywheel a bit sticky. But it works.

According to what I've been told, bike theft or bike part theft is a booming industry on campus. So I certainly didn't want to begin this experiment with some high-end affair that would get stolen. The Frankenbike won't turn any heads, that's for sure. I mean, really, zip ties.

I rode to campus today. I had a false start two days ago and had to come back to study the bike path maps a little more carefully. Today, I went loaded for bear: backpack, iPad, printed maps, water bottle. I made it to campus in almost exactly 30 minutes of not terribly horrendous pedaling. No, to be correct, in 30 minutes, I made it across campus to the auditorium where I am to spend June and July listening to organic chemistry lectures. I treated myself to lunch (only the second time I've eaten out since I arrived here) then pedaled back. That was much, much harder. My legs weren't at all ready for what amounted to an hour of bike riding.

I calculated that it's probably been 13 years or so since I last sat my fat butt on a bicycle seat so I guess that I'm doing okay since I made it back in good time and without too much trauma. (I'd forgotten how fun it is to ride a bike despite initially being a bit wobbly.)

I may be delusional but I am wondering if I can save the summer parking sticker fees and bike to campus instead. That's a lot of pedaling but no doubt it will be good for me. It certainly meets the "need more exercise" criterion. I am not delusional enough to think I would continue this during the winter. But it's summer now. The weather is decent at the moment.

There is a second option. There is a "park and bike" lot about 15 minutes' drive from my house that meets up with a different bike path that heads straight into campus and that would cut the total bike trip by as much as two-thirds. I will probably give that a try next week to see how much trouble it is to load and unload the bike into the back of the car (it will fit, the question is a matter of the trouble required) and how long this alternative takes.

And if this summer experiment goes well, I can sell my Frankenbike (which now has fenders and will probably get a new chain before too long) and upgrade to something a bit nicer.