Cycle

Back in 1997 or 1998 I bought this bicyle so that I could go riding with my friends Susan and Clay. It is a red and black Bianchi Premio racing bike--though the one I have is more for training on rather than racing.

Susan and Clay rode with a larger group of cyclists who rode together around Raleigh in areas that were less populated by cars. Or at least it seemed so to me at the time. Let me tell you, I was the worst cyclist in the group. I was always last, lagging a good way behind everyone-huffing and puffing as I rode. Someone from the group would always have to lag behind to make sure I hadn't keeled over. Then, after what seemed to be a handful of rides with the group, Susan and Clay moved to Chicago and my Bianchi Premio slowly made it's way to the crawl space underneath my parent's house where it has stayed, collecting dust, for more than a decade.

Last weekend, however, we rescued it from banishment! We hosed it down and brought it back to our apartment and today we will bring it to the bicycle shop for a major overhaul. I hope that the people in the bicycle store don't give me dirty looks because of the sad shape my bike is in. It definitely needs new tires. It basically needs to have everything about it checked out to make sure it is safe to ride.

What's more, is that I am really excited to ride it again. In the years past, I really never thought about my bicycle very much, but now I can't wait for it to be fixed!