A Letter to My Bike

Dear Bike (my Surly Cross Check),

How have you been? Have you been getting a lot of rest sitting in the garage? It shouldn’t have been that cold in there the last few months with the milder winter we’ve been having.

Oh sorry. You wouldn’t know about the weather. No, no, it’s not you. It’s me. I haven’t ridden you since January 7^th, and it was December 29^th before that. I’ve left you sitting un-ridden leaning up against the workbench in the garage since then. Of course, this has been the mildest winter since I’ve lived in Madison, so there really hasn’t been an excuse. I maybe just needed a break though, some time off. Again, it hasn’t been you. It’s been me.

Well, all of that is about the change though friend. My wife (you know that woman that often accompanies me in the garage?), she will be gone this weekend and early next week – and she’s taking the car. That leaves you and me good buddy. At the least, we’ll have to ride to work on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. But, and I say this probably for the both of us, it would be good to work back into things, work out the kinks, and bike to work a few days this week.

With that said, I’ll come down to the garage tonight and we’ll do the quick once-over. Inflate tires, check the chain tension, and lube the chain if need be. We’ll get everything refreshed and ready to ride. We’ll get you ready first. After that it’s just up to me – up to me to get back into the groove of waking up that little bit earlier, packing work clothes, and suiting up for the elements.

Speaking of the elements, I want to warn you ahead of time. The next handful of work days are potentially supposed to be a hodgepodge of precipitation – rain, snow, sleet, mix. Are you ready for it? Good. I thought you would be.