Biking Eugene

Katie D.

September 4, 2010 - 6:23 PM

It's finally happening. After four years of life in Eugene, witnessing and envying the freedom and quirky culture of bike riders in this bikable city, I have finally done it. I've plowed over a lifetime of bike fear and actually made bike riding a part of my daily life.

I've blogged about this whole biking issue before. It's something I've spent lots of time thinking about, a topic I've been embarrassed about since all the other kids in the neighborhood lost their training wheels. I don't like to admit to being afraid of things, or to being bad at things. And I've always been bad at biking, and afraid of the whole idea.

Now I'm not either anymore.

I've biked to school the last five times I've gone. I even biked yesterday when I was raining. I bike on streets, in bike lanes, and on the gravel path through the graveyard. I bike on campus. I bike in rain pants, I bike in sandals.

I don't know if any other single week has ever brought such a sense of achievement: of legitimately conquering something that's frightened me for years.

I love biking Eugene. I've got my route all worked out, and I'm becoming more and more comfortable with it. I don't ride without my handlebars yet, but I am riding with a comfort and confidence I would never have imagined for myself. It's FAST. I get from my backdoor to the front door of the Law School in twelve minutes, barring bike parking difficulties. I feel this great rush of pride when I navigate some tricky spot in the road, or when I make the trip in record time. I feel a kinship with the other bikers on the road. I obey traffic laws and watch out for cars: especially parked cars. I have this enduring fear that someone's going to open their door into the bike lane. Otherwise, seems like it's mostly smooth sailing to be on two wheels these days.

Well, mostly smooth sailing. I have some hilarious bike mishaps to report already.

I had a hell of a time learning to park my bike. It's harder than it looks. Spots are a premium these days, with alternative transportation being so popular. I arrived on campus one morning and was staring hopelessly at the bike racks for a few minutes, tried to jam my bike into a couple of spots, then dropped part of my lock a total of three times before successfully locking the thing. It took more than five minutes. Three other people cruised up, parked, locked, and sauntered into the building during the time it took me to muscle my way through a simple procedure like parking. I kept hearing my mom's voice quoting her mother, saying "for crying out loud!"

The next is un-parking. On Wednesday, I left the Law School to find myself completely parked in. The bikes on either side were jammed up on mine, with peddles caught in spokes and handlebars overlapping. It was a mess. After casually trying to fix the mess for almost ten minutes, I went and took a phone call. After a half hour chat, I had calmed down enough to fix most of the problem through gentle placement adjustment, and then got help from another biker to finish the job. I really hope someone was watching: I'm sure it was hilarious. I wasn't laughing.

The last and final bike fiasco is the most tragic. I've been very careful about sporting the "Eugene Biker" style: the right pants leg rolled up past mid-calf. For a while after arriving on campus, I thought this was some kind of weird hipster style. Now I know it for the vital function it serves: keeping your pants clear of the gears on your bike. Like I said, I've been careful. Except for once. I was powering up a hill, repeating "I think I can, I think I can" under my breath, when everything kind of lurched and I heard the ripping sound. I took a six-inch chunk out of my favorite pair of jeans. Figures, doesn't it? So now I've got to learn how to sew, and have no excuse for future stupid wardrobe mistakes.

Comedic bike setbacks aside, I am totally in love with this new lifestyle. I love the helmet hair. I love the rain pants that let me cruise through the rain completely dry. I love the way my tires sound on the pavement, and the way it feels to crest a hill. I love cruising down a slope, hitting green lights the whole way.

It's a brave new era for this bike-riding girl. Embarrassed it took me so long? Sure. But happy to be living the bike life in Eugene from now on? Excited doesn't even begin to express it.