Addicted to my Pretty Pink Bicycle

I know I’m going to get in trouble for telling on myself in this post. But I keep mulling over an incident that happened to me last week and I need to process it on the page.

 Within a week of temporarily relocating to Evanston, Illinois, I bought a Townie bicycle on Facebook Market Place. I feel like I’m on top of the world when I ride my iridescent pink bicycle with its Nantucket-like wicker basket strapped to the handlebars.

 I rode my bike .7 of a mile to a Tuesday morning yoga class.  As much as I enjoy my bicycle, I hadn’t bothered to buy a bike lock since most days it is housed in a locked storage room at my apartment complex. I thought I was being sneaky by parking the bike behind a row of stores and restaurants, out of sight from the main road. Returning to this location an hour later, my bike had vanished. My eyes were disbelieving assuming the bike would magically reappear. It didn’t. “How will I get home?” was one thought drifting like a slow-falling leaf to the bottom of my brain. In my stunned state, I queried the adjacent businesses. Most were clueless. One proprietor, however, remembered someone walking down the street with a pink bike. “Let’s check the exterior cameras,” she offered, only to realize they were disarmed. “Check on the other block, “she counselled. “Ok, thank you,” I replied not really believing it could be somewhere so nearby. Well, it was. Rounding a corner building, there it was. My pretty pink bike and magenta helmet dangling from its handlebar. I looked around in disbelief. No person was visible. Only the bike. Hesitantly, I mounted the bike and put on my helmet expecting someone to rush from the building accusing me of stealing their bike. No one did. I rode home feeling equal measures of gratitude and incredulity and promptly ordered a bike lock on Amazon.

 This post reveals that I have resumed my relationship with my bicycle following a six-week interruption due to a concussion I sustained from a previous biking accident. Despite the objections of concerned friends who have banned me from biking, I’m back in the saddle again. I am, however, properly chastened and very careful. I installed a rearview mirror on the bike. I don’t travel far. I stick to bike paths and trails. My family members grudgingly gave me the okay.  I just couldn’t resist sharing the story of my temporarily purloined two-wheeler even at the risk of reproach from well-meaning friends.