Bikes and pieces

Last week Min surprised me by buying a new bike. A bike for me. The two bikes we have are broken, so I joked about him buying me a "let me keep the car-bike". My new bike is white and glows in the dark. I realized that when I, without headlights nor rear lights, biked into an area without street lights and was blinded by the shiny white bar between the handlebar and the seat. I later complained about this expensive bike not going fast enough, and Min suddenly remembered that the shockers are connected and absorb 25% of every pedal stroke. Now, after some adjustments, the new bike is perfect.

Last week, I rode one of the old bikes home from work, and thought about the stories we had shared. For instance the first time Min and I went biking together and Min kept yelling at me to pedal downhill. I was terrified by the speed and potential cars. Min was frustrated that he had to slow down constantly. We one day rode our bikes from where we live into the x-ray institiute in Stavanger. Min ran his bike into a kid, because the kids heard my bell and moved for my bike, but were not ready for a second bike to blow past them. I wore jeans that day and couldn't move my thighs when we were going back home. We biked 500 meters and decided to take a bus back. The bus was crowded and went all sorts of detours, but I was very happy I didn't have to sit on that bike.

The bike that used to belong to Min was missing a front wheel after Christmas break. I told the neighbours one evening that I had a new bike, and I suspected someone might have run off with the old wheel. One of the ladies on top of the hill let me know that there is a bike wheel in her driveway. We strongly disbelieved that the storm had taken the wheel, most likely some drunk people on their way home from a Christmas party had some fun with a bouncy tire. This neighbour could also let me know that her son's kajakk was in the middle of the road, a kajakk that was normally attached to the trailer. The drunkards must have had a lot of fun with the stuff they found in our frontyards.

My new bike is always locked in the basement.