I was over in Ypsilanti today, taking the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification at Willow Run High School, and had almost three hours between the morning and afternoon sessions. So I went to explore Ypsi, where I haven’t spent that much time since we moved here a year ago.

Driving down a street, I noticed a garage sale and a couple of bikes. On a whim, I stopped and saw a dark green Raleigh M30 mountain bike, dusty and a bit worn, but apparently in excellent shape and in the right size and everything.

I asked the nice lady how much and she said, ‘Fifteen dollars.’

I said, ‘Fifty?’

‘No, fifteen. One. Five.’

‘Will you hold it for my while I run to the ATM?’

‘Sure!’

Back in five minutes, I handed over the cash and took the front wheel off and loaded my find into the Jeep. I went to the afternoon session of my test, then went home to rest the arms.

I’ve now had a chance to look over the $15 special and am pleasantly surprised that it’s a pretty good bike. The seat was worn on the edges, but she had a new one in the original package that went with it, and it’s a very nice gel setup. I’ll need to swap it out and it’s ready.

But there is a problem with the crank; I’m not sure I can fix it, thanks to my weak arms. But I took it for a test drive and, with the exception of the wonky crank, it performed beautifully. Tires, brakes, shifters, pedals, chain—everything is good.

I spent the last hour fooling with it and cleaning it up. Other than the crank situation, it’s ready to hit the road. I’ll just have to figure out that problem and Frank and I can bike together, if the mood hits.

So, in the space of a week, we’ve gone from no bikes to two (plus one still marooned in San Francisco). Yay!

The other day I startled myself by referring to a carbonated beverage as “pop” without thinking about it.

Today the heat was in the 80s and the humidity was in the mid-to-high range, weather that would have made me whiny and irritable in California, but I actually said, out loud, “If this is the worst we’re going to get I’d say this is a pretty mild summer.”

The sheer exuberant number of souped-up loud-engined street racing cars, megalithic pickup trucks, SUVs, and other behemoth vehicles of all kinds all over the streets of Ann Arbor no longer surprises me. Michigan is the Motor State, after all. (Some Michiganders’ driving habits, though, I’ll never understand.)

Ignorant and/or moronic letters to the editor that appear in the Ann Arbor News that would have automatically inspired a fired-off scorched-earth acidic response when I was living in San Francisco no longer faze me. Live and let live. Or something like that.

I’ve lived longer in Michigan than I’ve lived anywhere outside of California: as of July 23, it’s now been almost eleven months. (The only other place I’ve lived outside California was England, but that ended after nine months.)

I honestly no longer miss California much. Most days, anyway.

The first commute ride with the new Marin Bobcat went absolutely great. Especially since I’m not in shape for it any more.

The only problem is that it was not only the first, but the last, commute ride to grad school. I had to defer my enrollment for a year (« see the entry on the Teach journal for the gory details ») due to my very-messed-up wrist tendons. Sounds minor, but the pain is major, as is the damage that I’m doing to them by continuing to use them in bad ways (like writing this entry instead of resting them).

For now, my biking will have to be confined to pleasure excursions around the neighborhood, making sure not to spend too much time or pressure on the wrists.

But oh, that first ride. It was a total joy to ride the Bobcat. I managed the route in about ten minutes (which is slow, of course, but hey, I haven’t done this in years). The weather was good and the best part was how I was able to ride right up to the front door of the School of Ed; no worrying about parking or paying, just lock the thing up and go inside. Even though it takes longer from door-to-door, the time to get in the door is much shorter, so the commute actually ends up being shorter and less stressful.

Going home was just as nice; no walking blocks to the car or paying $7 to the garage. Just downstairs, unlock it and go home.

The only problem was the fiery pain in my arms. The next morning, after weighing all the factors, I very reluctantly decided to defer grad school for a year and my bicycle commuting was nipped in the very expensive bud after a single day.

As they say, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. It’s one of those things. I have a physical therapy session scheduled Wednesday and hope that they don’t ban me from the bike entirely.

In the meantime, I’ll still hit the road as often as I can. The Bobcat is just too beautiful and smooth (and expensive) to sit idly in the living room.