New Wheels

Right before I left for the USA this summer, my e-bike broke down on me. When I got back at the end of the summer, I took it down to a repairman who pronounced it dead. So I had to get a new e-bike, "e" being for "electric."

My very first motorbike was gas-powered, and I owned it from 1998 until 2007. It looked pretty ghetto by the time it died. This bike was red, and though not as modern in design as my new one, it was fairly similar to the one pictured here. Because it was gas-powered, it rode on the street with the cars, and required license plates and a driver's license.

My second motorbike was electric powered. It was gold...not the gaudy gold that comes out of a spray paint can, but the sophisticated gold that you would see on a car. It looked pretty nice up until I moved from Bedrock to Bamboo Forest. It got loaded onto the back of a moving truck, and when it arrived in the new city, it was banged up with the headlight hanging out. A friend repaired it with clear packing tape, which made it look really posh (sarcasm). Not desiring to be a diva, I drove it that way for four more years, but due to the injuries it sustained in the move, it had a shorter-than-expected life span.

Now I am on motorbike no. 3, a white, high-powered little machine. It pulls itself right out of the basement where it is stored (what I mean is, it goes uphill without being pushed, something that didn't happen with the previous bike). It can go fast, but I personally don't drive fast. The best part is the superior battery that will let me travel a whole lot further than I could travel before. So I am exploring parts of town that I could not get to previously!

And it locks with a remote control key fob. I no longer have to bend down to put a lock on the back wheel. I am really loving that. The older I get, the less fun it is to kneel on the pavement, ya know?

In the coldest part of winter, I'll still take taxis and the subway, because it is just too cold to ride bikes in the winter. But I'm loving it now!