Well I feel relieved the project has started. The lead-up to it was coloured by growing anticipation about what would or could or might happen. Now, that it’s Day Two, I feel more at ease. I’m in it.
It’s similar to when you stand on the shoreline looking at the cold water, working up the courage to dive in and anticipating the discomfort, the forfeiting of warmth. Then once you’re in the water, it always feels better and most often not as uncomfortable as your pre-dive mind was anticipating. At least that’s how it is in the sub-tropics where I live. Maybe if you’re swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, it might be different but in the Coral Sea that laps the shorelines where I live, it’s never really too cold to swim.
So now the project has begun, riding my bike is my first choice for transport. With no appointments to travel for, I’d envisaged a car-free week. Yes! This will be a great start to the project. Yet, it is only day two of this experiment and an unexpected turn arrives.
Replacing the car’s bike rack has been on the list for the last twelve months. It moved up the list last week and so I drove out to look, try and hopefully buy. Those plans didn’t go as thought. The model I was looking at wasn’t in stock and there were some doubts about whether that style of rack would fit the car and still allow enough space for the rear gate to open. The Thule ‘rep’ would call me next week.
It was a quick call. He had a display bike rack to test the fit. Could I meet him?
My mind immediately flashed with “that means driving the car” and then “what does that mean for my experiment?” and then “do I have an option? Can I make another choice?”
To which my thoughts quickly answered, “no, I don’t have an option…unless I choose to cross buying a new bike rack off my list” and then “well that is how it is…this is the nature of experimenting. There are some times that I will just have to use the car. The same will happen when the car needs servicing.”
Yes, I replied, I can meet you.
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It’s three days until this experiment begins. There’s been an internal countdown happening over the last eight days, with sharper intensity as each day passes. I find myself doing things this week with the car that I think will be more difficult once the experiment begins next Monday, like collecting the wall planner that I had copied and laminated at Officeworks for 2015. Although in hindsight, it may not have been as difficult as I first thought because the chart was small enough to roll and would have fitted into my pannier with its top poking out, unless there was rain, and then I would have needed to improvise some waterproofing.
Of course, there’s only so much that I can do in advance. So with three days to go, I’m wondering where this experiment will take me.
a bike for all seasons 