commuter.

After wordsmithing for the better part of 2 weeks, I finally sent out the mass email to friends and family, explaining my intentions to move. The very first response I received was from Cousin Kate, who shared such wonderful news:

I have been to Santa Barbara on another tour and really all I remember is that the weather was gorgeous and everyone rode bikes everywhere. On the college campus there were bike lanes alongside all the walking paths.

Another tic in the *for SBA column.

Not everyone knows my bike. It's a more recent acquisition, and really one of the simple pleasures in my life. I found it on Craigslist, a guy in north Mpls. was selling it, and it was a bit like buying a bike from a friend's dad. The listing said it was a mid-70's Schwinn, and it had a picture. I suppose I was drawn to the color (orange) and that it was a girl's bike and a 10-speed (I've been wandering around for the past 10 years on a men's mountain bike, somewhat converted for road use. Very uncomfortable.), and that the model name was *Le Tour III (read: Le Tour Trois, and not Le Tour three, as I've learned so many are wont to say).

I drove out to see it. I rode it around the block a few times. I felt pretty sweet in the saddle. I offered him $50 and he accepted. He helped me squeeze it into the back seat of my car, and we've been living happily together ever since. There have been a few glitches, but more than anything, I think it was a very solid investment. Because 10-speeds rule.

I'm on the bike as much as is humanly, physiologically, and professionally possible. I ride to work, I ride to the gym, I ride for relaxation. It's become such a part of my life that bike commuting was one of the first things I researched about SBA, and something I'll consider when deciding what area to live in. I stumbled upon a great website, Santa Barbara Car Free and received my first map of the SBA area, complete with bike routes and bike-riding tips. My kinda place.