Cycles

I seem to be forever guided by whims and fancies.

Fortunately, I've started using this particular weakness to my advantage (I think).

Having recognised my tendency to latch onto things and form mild obsessions, I've been running an experiment to see if I can cultivate said mild obsessions for things that would be good for me.

So far, it's kind of working. I've been endeavouring to develop a love affair with cycling, and I can definitely feel it taking hold. I'm buying cycling magazines because I actually want to read the articles and look at the ads. I'm borrowing books on the history of cycling. I'm finding joy on the days when I can ride my bike to work (and a slight depression in the fact that, when one lives in the tropics, one can either have inclement weather or good light to ride by, but not both).

This is really feeding off my fancy for unicycles and penny-farthings (one of which I already own, the other I lust after) and my whim to participate in a triathlon earlier this year. Both involved paying more attention to wheeled things, so I thought I'd try to direct some of that whim-and-fancy energy into actually riding my bike more.

I have been riding my bike more. Heck, I even bought one of those indoor trainer thingies so I could keep riding it even when it's too dark/cold for me to go out somewhere for a ride.

Trouble is, I think I'm feeling very tempted to take cycling up as a hobby and, as hobbies go, it's not cheap. In trying to convince myself to ride my bike more, I'm starting to develop a desire to own a better bike. Something I could use to go touring, maybe. Perhaps two bikes - the tourer and a mountain bike. And then maybe join a club that could show me where the good mountain biking trails are in the area.

And, of course, I'll need to keep the bikes in fine working order, which will mean buying new parts for them on a semi-regular basis. Nice, shiny parts like you see in the magazines... parts which cost a fortune.

On the one hand, this would probably put a dent in my finances that would hinder my "I want to go to Estonia for a year or so" plans. On the other hand, I was thinking of cycling most places once I got to Estonia, so improving my fitness and endurance on the bike would be a good investment, right?

Why do the good bikes have to cost so much? It just fills me with a lack of confidence in the bikes that fall within my price range. I mean, if the top-of-the-line road bikes cost over $10,000, what kind of bike would I be getting for my $600? Could I put enough faith in it to go for a ride to the next town?

Oh, and in riding my bike around town, have confirmed a long held suspicion: the Town Planning department in Townsville hates cyclists and is trying to kill us. They've got plenty of lovely little Sunday-afternoon-stroll type bike paths around the place, but try to ride your bike to the shops or to work and you take your life in your hands.

I mean, who designs a bike path that ends up throwing you onto the main road, facing oncoming vehicles, with no safe place to cross the six lanes of seething traffic? The Townsville Town Planning department, that's who.

Did I say I thought this was going to be good for me?