I miss riding my bike. It’s sitting in my hallway, sort of tucked out of the way (sorry roommates), neglected and beautiful. Now that the heat has yielded to cooler, more confusing, more beautiful season (as a Californian I struggle to grok real seasons), a familiar type of ennui has emerged, one that can only be cured with a bike ride.

My bike sits sadly in the corner

The other day, as I headed for the stairs, a classmate who I’ve never spoken to was telling someone about how they love to leave a party early to ride their bike slowly home. I grinned like a mad woman and snapped my fingers as I walked by to show my appreciation for that sentiment. And then I went about my day.

But now I find myself stewing, yearning, sitting and thinking. I crave a bike ride. It’s cold now, and I yearn to bike. There are a couple minor things that I currently consider to be obstacles.

1. My hand pump has disappeared and my tires are a little flat.
2. I don’t have fenders on right now.
3. I don’t have a bike community here.

The first two will be remedied next paycheck with a visit to bike plant, a wonderful little shop that makes me miss Scenic Routes¹. I might even finally do that flat bar conversion. The third, I’m not sure about. I found community with bikes in San Francisco, and I’m in search of something similar here.

I’m not quite sure how to go about creating such a community for myself—it feels weird and self centered to even think about creating a community without some kind of anchoring institution a-la Scenic Routes.

I hope to find community here as I continue the long tradition of Californian bi-coastal yearning.

Yours in yearning,
Natalie