I wanna be a biker (again)

biker hands by uzixc, deviantart

Banana seat. Extension handlebars. Fat white walls. I was the coolest kid in my neighbourhood (at least I thought so).

Flash forward to University days. A one-speed clunker. Storage basket. Cruised across that city everywhere on my bike, ponytail blowing in the breeze. Cool.

Then a series of cars. Kids, and more cars. Two-wheel life was wedged out of my life until Parkinson’s came calling. “Exercise is so important” I was told at every turn. “Get  outside – take a ride”. Yet would my balance problems permit me to return to my cycling days? Enter the adult tricycle – two wheels up-front, one in the back. A low rider that had me about a foot off the ground, sitting comfortably and garnering lots of attention wherever i rode! That was uber-cool.

Yet, after a series of too-close-for-comfort encounters with vehicles, and an improved balance from my new PD medications, I decided to part company with the trike. We’d visited Amsterdam around the same time and I was inspired by the way bikes are so integral to life in the city. I loved the cruiser-style bicycles that everyone seems to use to get around. That’s what I’d get – an Amsterdam special!

Well, I’m yet to make this acquisition but I feel like it’s immanent. Though my attention has been distracted by other objects of vehicular lust (have you seen those 3-wheeled Can-Am Spyder bikes? What about a Vespa scooter?), I remain committed to the Amsterdam bike. The exercise that is so important for someone with PD, as well as the slower pace of riding a bike, appeals. If I could only find one with a banana seat.