Recently Aaron and I decided we needed to get out more, and we needed to do it in an exercisey way. We're not necessarily unhealthy people, but with The Owl's opening still 2 months out we've been fighting a tendency to spend far too much time on our couches.
We're not "Go to the Gym" people, and I've never found running to be something I'd classify as "Fun." We have a Wii Fit, and although it is certainly fun it's still an indoor activity. When all these facts were taken into account the answer became clear.
We needed bicycles!
Several problems with this idea were immediately apparent. We live in an apartment, and we own a lot of stuff. Our tiny storage closet is packed to the ceiling, and our closets overflow with random things like guitar cases, old aquarium equipment, abandoned arts and crafts projects, holiday decorations, toys and games, and boxes. So many boxes. Boxes in boxes. Boxes of books. Boxes of cds and dvds. Boxes of all those bits and pieces of life that you don't need out on a shelf but just aren't quite ready to trash yet. Or maybe that's just me. Pack Rat extraordinaire.
So what were we to do? We wanted bikes, but we just didn't have anywhere to put them. Aaron found the answer.
Yeah. That's a bike. A folding bike. Pretty cool, huh? This ones mine. I kinda love the 70s vibe with the green and brown color scheme. Mine arrived first, and this is a right-out-of-the-box picture. We were foldy bike novices, without the talent and skill to properly fold and strap everything into it's proper place. A few days later Aaron's bike arrived and we took them out for a test run.
There they are, in all their foldy glory.
You can see how much better we are at folding them up now. We're bike folding professionals.
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Aaron let me do a folding bike photo shoot so we could share our newfound skills with you.
The first thing you do is remove the velcro straps. For some reason I didn't take a picture of that.
The next step is swinging the front half forward so that it almost looks like a regular bike.
A regular bike with no handle bars.
The handle bars were hiding down there next to the wheel. They flip up and lock in place. They are also height adjustable!
Ta Da! Bicycle Accomplished.
After our success with bicycle number one I felt compelled to continue filming as bicycle number two was transformed from Strange Folded Wheely Thing into Fully Functional Transportation and Exercise Unit.
I didn't take any pictures of the strappy parts. Again.
The process is pretty much the same. Really there was no reason to take pictures of both bikes.
As I mentioned before the handle bars on these have height adjustments. Now I'll mention that the seats are also adjustable! Mention Accomplished.
Ta da again! Oh yeah, that's why I took pictures of both bikes - to show you that there are a variety of body shapes available! Mine is called the "Step Through" style. Cause I can Step Through it. As opposed to Stepping Over it.
This may not seem like such a great thing for you, but I'm only five feet tall so it's pretty handy for me.
I wasn't in any of the pictures. I felt left out.
After our Bicycle Assembly photo shoot we rode around our apartment complex for a while. Our complex isn't all that big, but it does have a somewhat hilly terrain. And we hadn't riden bikes in a long time. The results were probably predictable. After about 5 minutes my legs started feeling a little shaky. After 15 minutes they had a whole Jello thing going on. 20 minutes passed and my whole body had started to feel like a wet Spaghatta Nadle! <----- Click that. Click it NOW. ..........You're welcome.
We only rode for a half an hour at the absolute most. At the end of that half hour I was pretty sure I was going to die. And I still had to fold my bike up and carry it inside.
It turned out I didn't die. But my hair was wet with sweat and I wasn't gonna be walking anytime soon.
I drank this entire cup of cucumber water. It helped. A lot. <---- Click that too.
You're welcome. Again.
So in conclusion, it might be a while before I look upon my bicycle with the fondness portrayed in my drawing. Don't get me wrong, I love my bicycle, I just don't love turning into a useless pile of mush when I use it. But then again, that's the point isn't it? My goal. To not turn into a pile of mush from riding a bike for thirty measly minutes.
Wish me luck.
Did you click the links? No? Man, are you missing out. Those links take you straight into the wonderful magical world of Hyperbole and a Half, the best blog on the internet. It's author, Allie Brosh, is my blog hero. I probably wouldn't even be doing this if I hadn't read hers first. I've mentioned this before, and I probably will again. 'Cause I believe in spreading awesome when and where ever possible.
Oh, almost forgot, if you're interested in checking out a foldy bike for yourself you can do that Here.
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