The Bike People

I crossed another thing off my "31 Things to Do Before I Turn 31" list this weekend when my mom gave me her mountain bike.Now that she lives in pedestrian-unfriendly LA, she doesn't use it. I promptly took it to the bike shop to get the tires fixed and to buy a lock. I'm excited about the bike, although not excited about the helmet. There is just no way I'm going to get my swagger on in a bike helmet . . .

I forgot how liberating a bicycle can be! This morning I rode it to the gym, iPod on, pedaling away to John Legend's "Green Light." It was perfect, although my butt was a little sore (I'm thinking I may need a new seat or something).

However, I need to learn bicycle etiquette. Yes, as in every other hobby there exists some sort of subculture. While in the bike shop waiting for my tires to get fixed, I observed "the bike people." The bike people use certain lingo, wear certain outfits, and seem to be way more skilled than I at noticing when a car door is about to open. Now, I am not interested in becoming one of The Bike People (it appears another one of their requirements is some sort of a beard). I am not about to wear the special socks or get all Lance Armstrong-y. And I'm definitely not giving up my car in favor of a bike. But I think it might help to understand the rules of the road a bit more. They're more complicated than I thought.

As a driver, I usually cannot stand cyclists. I hate driving in Berkeley on a sunny day because they pack the streets. In fact, one day, my sorhority sister and I were in her car near Cal's campus and she accidentally slightly hit a girl riding a bike. Slightly. In my sorhor's defense, the girl wasn't really riding in a straight line - she was trying to navigate her bike and a large Jamba juice across the crosswalk. In fact when the girl fell off the bike, her concern really seemed to be in making sure the Jamba juice didn't spill rather than her limbs (I can't blame her - a Jamba juice is a whole meal when you're on a college student's budget).

Bottom line is, I've become more cognizant of my fellow bike-riding brethren. I hope you will too, when you see me riding beside you, singing "I'm ready to go right now! I'm ready to go right now!" at the top of my lungs.