Okay, I’ve got a lot to tell you about bicycles in my life.
We will totally get to the story of how I got a bike and what I’m doing with it. But for right now, I’ll just tell you about going to pick it up and getting it outfitted.
Bikes. A lot of stuff. I had no idea.
Attached to my bike (and also easily detachable) – a front white light and a back red light (mandated by law). An emergency repair kit (Velcro-ed in under the saddle) in case I get a flat (with a small pump velcroed in along the side as well), a water bottle (in the bottle cage), and a cell phone holder at the front for navigation (and probably music; let’s get real).
If you plan on leaving your bike out anywhere, you’re supposed to take all of that off(!!!). What?
For the time being, I’m just leaving my bike in my apartment because I don’t want to be locking it up every night and taking off the lights and everything else, then putting them all back on when it’s time to go out again. Aye aye aye.
I mean, okay, you could probably be okay going out with none of that.
But I’m trying to have a proper bike and be prepared. (I know. Me. Prepared Who’d’a thunk it?…. The girl who ran out of gas on the way home from the Grand Canyon has a bicycle tire repair kit ready to go, just in case, for her new bike?)
(The cycling group I’m training with technically requires that you have one… I doubt they do checks and send you home if you don’t, but in the literature, they tell you.)
Anyway, in conclusion. Bikes have a ton of stuff. And it took me sort of forever to successfully put it all on and take it all off my bike… Maybe I’ll get better at it – or maybe I’ll just always keep it all on my bike, and keep my bike in my apartment. I’ll figure it out.
This is gonna be an adventure!