Saying “Goodbye” to Old Friends

Photo by Jim LaBate

My wife and I bought new bikes recently. A rental shop near us was going out of business and selling their entire inventory at a deep discount, so we decided to upgrade. In addition to getting a better bike and more gears, I now also have a bike that fits my 6’ 5” frame. The only negative is we have to say “goodbye” to our previous bikes, bikes that have become good friends during these last twenty plus years.

I don’t remember exactly when we bought our previous bikes, but we bought four of them, two red ones for Barbara and me and two teal ones for our girls who were in middle school at the time. I knew then that my 26-inch frame was actually too small for my height, but a larger frame was so much more expensive, and our budget was tight. Besides, how could I complain? I had ten gears for the first time, and, finally, we all had “big-kid” bikes, and we could ride together easily, so I was happy.

At first, we explored our suburban neighborhood quite often, and, soon, we bought a bike rack, so we could also visit the local bike paths. From our home in Clifton Park, New York, we traveled along the Mohawk River to the west and along the Hudson River to the south. Our river rides were a beautiful combination of enjoying God’s creation while also sharing a safe and healthy experience with our daughters. We usually ended these rides with visits to nearby ice-cream…