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Sep. 24th, 2010 09:54 pmTonight was several things, including the first time I went out on my bike because I Needed to, as opposed to just wanted to, or practical reasons. It was the first time I rode in the dark, the first time I rode on Mass Ave, the first time I rode for more than an hour without locking up (I think I was out for a little over an hour and a half total, with only a ten minute rest near the end to eat some sanity candy and listen to Vienna Teng.)
(It was also the first time I brought Jackie1 on a bike ride, and I think it worked fairly well. At some point I should create a bike playlist, eventually. It's nice to listen to the city though, too.)
I went about six miles total, maybe a little less, which means that I was riding slightly slower than optimal (optimal is six miles an hour, or one mile every ten minutes --I can walk at about one mile every 15-20 minutes) but I certainly wasn't rushing, and while I didn't have any serious stops (ie, ones where I got off the bike long enough to lock it) there were a couple of mini-stops (fireworks!) involved. So that was nice.
I am certainly enjoying the hell out of the bike, and very glad I have it. I'm debating riding it to MICE tomorrow (or better yet, to MICE by way of FluffFest) but I'm slightly intimidated by the idea of riding on Mass Ave during the day, and four miles seems slightly scary when I really still haven't determined for certain the correct way to be sitting on my bike2. Plus, I'm definitely riding the bike (which needs a name --I am leaning towards Salander3 or Balliet4) to Spookidelica tomorrow, and perhaps randomly a bit after, so that's a bit formidable, even if Davis is, you know. Right there.
(In case it wasn't obvious, my goal is to get in a bike ride a day. Wednesday I rode to Wheelworks, then up Highland to Hub Comics and Union Square, and down Kirkland (which has my favourite bit of biking in the whole city so far, and I've ridden it every day --a perfect hill, not too steep, for gliding down with your arms spread wide) and Oxford to home, and Thursday I rode Oxford to Kirkland through Union to Somerville Ave and the Target, and back again the same way. Today I went Somerville to Kirkland to Beacon to Somerville/Elm to...Davis, and whichever street next to Davis goes the right direction, to the xkcd playground (which involved Mass Ave, v. scary) back up to Porter Exchange (or right across anyways) and home. It's nice to explore, and I'm starting to maybe learn street names a little better.)
SOYES, bike. Bike is awesome, and I'm very fond of it, and going to take it out again in about fifteen minutes, because I'm a bit of an idiot. At least I'm cute, no?
~Sor
MOOP!
1: Jacqueline Hyde, more often known as Jackie, is my ipod. I love her dearly.
2: I've actually mostly got it figured out, which is to say Wednesday I got off the bike and realized I had practically bruised fragile bits of me, which was so very not a good plan. Thursday I figured out a more proper way to sit, pretty much as a survival instinct. Currently, I think I've about got it, though I'd love if my handlebars were about four inches higher and two or three inches closer to me, so I could actually sit up straight on my bike.
3: Last name of the protagonist of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. Has all the freedom she could need in the world, which appeals to me --before I got the bike, I was thinking about naming her this (or Lisbeth), now that I have the bike, I'm not as positive that the name fits.
4: Blue Balliet wrote Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3, both of which I finally read this summer. Mostly just because my bike is very very blue, and the name has some flow to it. Would feel a bit weird about naming my bike for a real person though, especially one I don't have a particular affinity for.
Hmmm, though going off the books I read recently theme...gosh, I honestly think that Blaise would be a lovely name for her, especially as she appears to be entirely ill-suited to her purpose (she's a mountain bike, for city riding) much like Modesty herself does5. I don't know that the bike is near fashionable enough for this, but maybe I can do something about that.
5: Modesty is somewhat slim, and unlikely to be thought of as someone who will Fuck You Up if you cross her. She regularly beats the tar out of much larger and broader men. I want to be her when I grow up so very very badly (though I'd settle for being Willie Garvin's granddaughter.)
(It was also the first time I brought Jackie1 on a bike ride, and I think it worked fairly well. At some point I should create a bike playlist, eventually. It's nice to listen to the city though, too.)
I went about six miles total, maybe a little less, which means that I was riding slightly slower than optimal (optimal is six miles an hour, or one mile every ten minutes --I can walk at about one mile every 15-20 minutes) but I certainly wasn't rushing, and while I didn't have any serious stops (ie, ones where I got off the bike long enough to lock it) there were a couple of mini-stops (fireworks!) involved. So that was nice.
I am certainly enjoying the hell out of the bike, and very glad I have it. I'm debating riding it to MICE tomorrow (or better yet, to MICE by way of FluffFest) but I'm slightly intimidated by the idea of riding on Mass Ave during the day, and four miles seems slightly scary when I really still haven't determined for certain the correct way to be sitting on my bike2. Plus, I'm definitely riding the bike (which needs a name --I am leaning towards Salander3 or Balliet4) to Spookidelica tomorrow, and perhaps randomly a bit after, so that's a bit formidable, even if Davis is, you know. Right there.
(In case it wasn't obvious, my goal is to get in a bike ride a day. Wednesday I rode to Wheelworks, then up Highland to Hub Comics and Union Square, and down Kirkland (which has my favourite bit of biking in the whole city so far, and I've ridden it every day --a perfect hill, not too steep, for gliding down with your arms spread wide) and Oxford to home, and Thursday I rode Oxford to Kirkland through Union to Somerville Ave and the Target, and back again the same way. Today I went Somerville to Kirkland to Beacon to Somerville/Elm to...Davis, and whichever street next to Davis goes the right direction, to the xkcd playground (which involved Mass Ave, v. scary) back up to Porter Exchange (or right across anyways) and home. It's nice to explore, and I'm starting to maybe learn street names a little better.)
SOYES, bike. Bike is awesome, and I'm very fond of it, and going to take it out again in about fifteen minutes, because I'm a bit of an idiot. At least I'm cute, no?
~Sor
MOOP!
1: Jacqueline Hyde, more often known as Jackie, is my ipod. I love her dearly.
2: I've actually mostly got it figured out, which is to say Wednesday I got off the bike and realized I had practically bruised fragile bits of me, which was so very not a good plan. Thursday I figured out a more proper way to sit, pretty much as a survival instinct. Currently, I think I've about got it, though I'd love if my handlebars were about four inches higher and two or three inches closer to me, so I could actually sit up straight on my bike.
3: Last name of the protagonist of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. Has all the freedom she could need in the world, which appeals to me --before I got the bike, I was thinking about naming her this (or Lisbeth), now that I have the bike, I'm not as positive that the name fits.
4: Blue Balliet wrote Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3, both of which I finally read this summer. Mostly just because my bike is very very blue, and the name has some flow to it. Would feel a bit weird about naming my bike for a real person though, especially one I don't have a particular affinity for.
Hmmm, though going off the books I read recently theme...gosh, I honestly think that Blaise would be a lovely name for her, especially as she appears to be entirely ill-suited to her purpose (she's a mountain bike, for city riding) much like Modesty herself does5. I don't know that the bike is near fashionable enough for this, but maybe I can do something about that.
5: Modesty is somewhat slim, and unlikely to be thought of as someone who will Fuck You Up if you cross her. She regularly beats the tar out of much larger and broader men. I want to be her when I grow up so very very badly (though I'd settle for being Willie Garvin's granddaughter.)