More Biking Adventure of Reanne

Last Friday I took my first solo bike trip. I rode up from my house, south of SE Hawthorne to Evelyn's house which is a few blocks north of NE Fremont. It took me about 40 min to get there. Leaving a little after 9:30pm I headed off into the night (with several lights attached). It was a really good ride and a total confidence booster. The parts that seemed scary when I was planning my trip weren't that bad after all. For a little while I rode on the sidewalk during the parts that seemed to narrow or busy, but after a while I stuck to the road.

The ride home was… a little more interesting. So the reason I was going to Evelyn's house was for her going away/birthday party. She will be leaving tomorrow to head to Japan for the JET program. At first I kept saying that I wasn't going to have more than a few drink because I didn't want to ride my bike home drunk. This led to a few offers to get a ride home from some friends and some new acquaintances. My moral resolve caved into my desire to party and soon I was pleasantly intoxicated. Only after drinking copious amounts of water, did I allow myself to get on my bike to head home. I felt moderately fine by this moment, yet was still cautious about my biking ability. I got off my bike at any step inclines, just in case I wouldn't be able to brake in time. I made myself bike home for two reasons: 1) not trusting driving ability of the rides I was offered and 2) pride. I wanted to make it home by myself. To prove to myself that I'm capable of making a round trip on my bike.

Overall, I did fine on the way back. The only thing that didn't turn out so well was me getting turned around in Ladd's Addition. I kept finding myself heading to Division (despite having turned around twice). When I found myself heading to Division for the third time, I gave up. Got off and walked till I was able to orientate myself again. The was probably due to my lingering drunken state… however I still blame the fucked up design of Ladds.

Soon to come: Reanne tries to bike to work or at least part of the way. & Reanne tries to add fender to her bike (with only minor assistance).