The moment you get on your bicycle it becomes an extension of your body. It becomes a natural part of you...and you a part of it. A connection and a bond is formed. Your bike personifies your personality and becomes part of your identity. Heck, most of us even name our bikes. Which is why it feels so incredibly weird, awkward, and foreign when you, for one reason or another, ride someone else's bike. I accidentally rode Mark's bike once. We had matching 2006 Stumpjumpers. His was a small frame and mine a large. We didn't make it more than ten feet down the trail before realizing the switch...and sharing a laugh.
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| Dave Raymond, Mark Lentz, and our matching Stumpjumpers after the Terror At Teaberry Race -- September 2006 |
There have been times when I've been "between bikes" and needed to borrow someone else's bike for an event (thank you, Billy & Kevin!). Once I even rode my son's bike in an adventure race because a teammate needed to ride mine. Working at
GUNG HO BIKES I rode a myriad of bikes...some were significantly "nicer" than mine...but none of them ever felt quite right to me. Riding someone else's bike could ultimately have financial implications...just ask Glenn! Kristian allowed Glenn to ride his bike on a section of the
Allegrippis Trails. Glenn ended up with a significant case of "bike envy." Glenn's currently in between bikes!
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| Thank you, Billy, for loaning me your bike for the 2009 French Creek Fling Adventure Race....and thank you, Butch Ulrich, for making me carry it half of the race! It was my first ever taste of a 29er! -- October 11, 2009 |
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| The look on Glenn's face is one of "bike envy" after he rode Kristian's bike for a short stint on the Allegrippis Trails -- August 2, 2016 |
There are some things that I DO like about getting the chance to ride someone else's bike...Tim and I rode our first recumbent cycle while fixing a mechanical in
Patapsco Valley State Park...we met a nice gentleman, struck up a conversation, and he allowed us to test out his bike. I rode my first tandem bike with Mikey after the two of us tuned it up on an evening that we were both working at the shop. I was the last in my group to make the switch from a 26 inch bike to a 29er...borrowing Billy's bike for an adventure race played a big part of that.
So yeah...I guess I could say riding someone else's bike ultimately put me on the bike that I'm on now...the very bike that's become an extension of me.
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| While Mikey and I fixed the brakes on my bike...Timmy and Mark took turns riding a kind stranger's recumbent bike. Super cool! -- August 16, 2011 |
Life is a journey...not a destination.
David A. Raymond -- February 17, 2017
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| Mikey and I had a great test riding a tandem bike we fixed while we were working at Gung Ho Bikes -- August 2013 |
Here's the GARMIN stats and map from a ride featured in this post:
August 2, 2016 -- Mountain biking the Allegrippis Trails with Kristian and Glenn
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