Our marriage wears the scars of biking
Scott riding in the Alps of Austria
It’s Sunday – take a bike ride!Humid Sunday mornings sitting on the screened-in porch with the newspapers, tea, and ceiling fan on high, the lovely accents of bicycling commentators the background noise to the start of summer. With the end of the Giro d’Italia today – and repeat champ Italian Vincenzo Nibali – biking season is in. Although the professional sport was tarnished by doping scandals, enthusiasts of the incredible stamina and athleticism it takes to compete in grueling mountain races have stuck with the sport. Not even the latest scandal uncovered this year – mechanical doping by a Belgian cyclocross rider who had a motor hidden in the frame of the bike – can completely rob the sport of its intrigue. It’s not enough to watch though. One must ride.I’ve been riding a bicycle for enjoyment, exercise, and transportation since I was a young kid. I still remember the exhilaration of purchasing my own bike with my own money. It was a mustardy yellow Benotto Italian racing bike with 10 gears, racing handlebars, and spiky pedals that I rode barefoot on my journeys back and forth to the local swimming pool where I worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor. Because I spent my summers outside in bare feet, it created a tough outer callous so that my feet could walk over sharp pebbles and grip spiked pedals with equal aplomb.My best friend and I used to ride our bikes on back country roads between our tiny hometown and the next town 10 miles away just for something to do on summer days. I rode my bike all over town. It represented freedom and style to me as I whizzed around on that sleek steel-framed Italian beauty.The Benotto and I parted ways just before I started college, replaced by a shiny silver Schwinn. I decided it should come to college with me, so my dad loaded it onto the carrier that sat low off the tailgate of our old station wagon. As most men always want to park as close to their destination as possible, even if it means taking laps around a parking lot or building, my dad was no exception. Since many other parents were unloading their children to the dorms at the same time, very little prime real estate remained. Not to be outdone, my dad decided to back up right near a door despite a swale leading up to it. When he could get no closer and came to a halt, we got out to see the front wheel of my new bicycle squished into the side of the swale, bent on the rim. So, we unloaded everything else, but my bike went home with dad for repairs.If not as stylish as that old Benotto, the Schwinn was resilient. I rode it for years to come, including on two-week long biking/camping trips with my boyfriend and now husband. The first trip was on country roads to Seneca Falls, NY, and home through the mountains of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, where we pitched our tent one night at an old hunting lodge where a welcoming, Bible-quoting, bearded young man nourished or bellies and souls. We followed his advice to avoid the hills by taking the railway through the canyon. What he failed to tell us was that the side of the tracks was unrideable with large rocks lining it. We walked our bikes for what felt like miles before finding a road up out of the canyon. The trip taught me to draft Scott so that I could benefit from his hard work at the front. I learned how to do it well the hard way when I got too close, hit his rear tire, and hit the road earning a scar on my forearm I still wear proudly.It wasn’t my last scar from biking. I hated driving the 15 miles to and from my job every day, so I decided to take the bus to downtown Harrisburg and throw my bike on the front of the bus. Then, when we got to the transfer station downtown, I could avoid the half-hour wait for the next bus, by hopping on my bike for an adventurous ride through downtown to my campus on the north end of town. One sunny Friday afternoon, it was too nice to take the bus back home, so I decided to ride the whole way home. Downtown Harrisburg to Hershey involves mostly busy highways, but I took the Green Belt through quiet city streets and parks and behind busy thoroughfares. It brought me out to Derry Street, a busy 35-mph route that would connect me to Hummelstown, where I would soon be comfortably on smaller and more comfortable roads. Halfway through my Derry Street trip, something happened. I’ll never know what because I woke up in the ER with a concussion, Derry Street embedded in my face and neck, and a stiff neck. I might have been hit by a car or I might have hit the curb and gone down. My helmet was cracked down the middle. It saved my life. Plastic surgery followed by laser surgery saved my face. Many more scars to wear proudly as a road warrior.I’m not deterred. Bicycling is a part of our marriage makeup. Scott rode the Continental Divide with a buddy for his 40th birthday and then did a bike race in Austria eight years ago. He is all about speed and endurance and pushing himself to the limit. I am about leisure, moderate exercise, transportation, and enjoying the scenery.The government of Victoria, Australia, promotes bicycling for better health for its citizens listing some pretty convincing reasons: Cycling prevents serious diseases like heart attack, stroke, obesity, depression, diabetes, and arthritis; it is healthy, fun, and low impact exercise for people of all ages; and it is easy to fit into daily routines if used as a form of transportation. I have packs I put on a rack on the back of my bike because I like biking to serve a dual purpose. This week, I rode to Farmers Market and pedaled home with three bouquets of wildflowers in one pack and CSA bounty of strawberries, asparagus, apples, tomatoes, and lettuce in the other. Scott and I have different purposes for biking, but occasionally, the twain shall meet when we go for a more leisurely ride together. This July, we will take our biking to a new level of motivation with a Bike Tour of Ireland, inspired by whiskey and chocolate tastings at the end of each day’s ride. Ahh, yes, one must ride.
Works Consulted
“Cycling – Health Benefits.” Better Health Channel. Department of Health and Human Services, State Government of Victoria, Australia. 2016. Web. 29 May 2016.