City Bike

My bike has never been a city bike. It was raised in Marin county, the birthplace of mountain biking, and still bears the signs of a rough life in the great outdoors (dents and scratches, a few missing spokes), consequences of many un-intentional cartwheeling manouvers performed in tandem with its owner. But those scratches and wounds are nothing compared with what could happen here in the city. City life is much tougher for a bike and owner who are not used to riding in the city (see next posting). But we're all adapting these days, so with the spring weather just around the corner I decided it was time to take the bike out for a spin. First I had to buy a lock to make sure nobody is tempted to ride it in the sunset without my consent. Then, I had to take a picture of it, so if it ever gets stolen I will remember what it looked like; it still looks weird sitting on the sidewalk, chained to a signpost :(
Then I rode it carefully to school, stopping at every stop light, watching for every car passing by, carefully studying the parked cars in case someone decides to open a door just as I pass by. Frightening experience! I timed to see how long it takes me to get to school. Official time: 6 minutes. Wow!! It takes me about 30 minutes to walk to school and just about as long to take the T. This is an 80% improvement! Talking about system optimization. With that statistic, the bike has become my preferred means of transportation to school. Next step, check my renters insurance, just in case... Final analysis:

renters insurance: $180
bike lock: $40
chance to sleep a few extra minutes in the moring: priceless