Bicycle Blues in New Beginnings

Funny how when you make decision that required much deliberation, life will sometimes pile on top of you. It’s almost like it was waiting for your choice before unleashing a whole bunch of unrelated events designed to make you regret it.

Case in point, I had been deliberating whether or not to buy a road cycle. I don’t really have the time right now to go cycling like I used to, but I certainly could have made use of road bike during the 2020 quarantine. With talk of the new COVID variants, it’s not like another one couldn’t happen, so I decided to look into making that purchase.

Not that doing so was easy. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea, and with so many sectors of the economy shut down, every bike retailer is almost entirely out of stock with no restocks happening anytime soon. I finally found one online dealer with some high-end models slowly trickling in. I had my eye on one particular bike that had all the specs I wanted (disk brakes, strapped pedals, and a 2 x 11 gearing set up). It was $2k, but its performance capabilities were on par with cycles over $1k greater in price.

My regret also held an undue influence over me. When I lived in Atlanta, I bought a mid-tier (for the time) road bike for commuting around the city when I didn’t want to drive. I had so much fun on that contraption. Not that I was an elite level rider, but I felt like I was flying around town whenever I went for a ride. Obviously, I know I can get where I’m going faster in a car, but there’s something about bicycling that feels almost organic. Maye it’s the feel of the wind, or the smells or sounds you wouldn’t experience inside a car’s cabin. That bike served me even better during the ’09 recession when I had to live with my dad in Eastman. With no job, I was behooved to stretch my savings by cutting costs on things like gas. Being able to ride to the library or the local high school’s track when I wanted to work out was a blessing during a very strained time in my life.

So, of course, like an idiot, I threw it away. Once I got back into the job force, I put my bike in a storage unit along with many of my other possessions. My dad’s old house in Gwinnett was packed with so much of his hoarded junk, and I was trying to save space where I could. Eventually, I rented that room from Johnny in his townhome, then I moved into my first condo with the intentions of moving again when I found a house. When I cleaned out my storage unit, I had so much stuff to move, and I was so tired of moving again and again, and I hadn’t ridden in so long, so I just left it in the spot where people “donated” their excess belongings. I’m sure it was claimed almost immediately. I hope it got a good owner and isn’t rusting a way in a junk yard somewhere.

Back on point, I really wish I had kept it, and buying this bike felt like I was undoing that mistake as best I could. Combine my regret with the fact that I’m almost 40, I’m in good financial position, and if I just keep waiting and waiting and waiting to do some of what I want, I may never do anything.

I took the plunge and made the purchase last Thursday, and almost immediately things started going wrong.

1. My computer broke. Granted, I built it over 7 years ago, so it’s kind of due for some new components. The only part I’ve replaced in that time is the motherboard. I have no idea what’s not working, though. I’ll have to take it to a local repair shop and hopefully whatever needs to be replaced will be cheap.

2. My car batter died this morning. To be fair, the last time I took it in for servicing, the technician told me as much. My car is almost due for another service appointment, which I’ve scheduled for next week, so that’ll be another $800 (probably)

3. Most frustratingly, but perhaps not most costly, when I made the purchase, I did so through PayPal. I had purchased through this online retailer before, and it always sent me a FedEx tracking number. I didn’t think much when it didn’t arrive. It was Labor Day weekend; a delay was to be expected. However, when I sporadically checked my junk mail Wednesday, I found the missing tracking email. I also discovered my PayPal account still had my Dad’s former Gwinnett County home address, where I hadn’t lived in close to a decade.

I immediately looked up my former next-door neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, in my phone and sent her a text to see if she still lived there and could help me out. No response. I then called her number. She’s an older lady, so texting might not be how she communicates. No response, not even a voicemail message. I then looked her up on Facebook and sent a message. No response. At this point, I’m starting to worry. I did some sleuthing and found the mobile phone number of the woman who lives in my old house where the package would be delivered. I sent her, Brook, a text, and got a response saying she’d be happy to assist. She sent me another text when it was delivered, saying Mrs. Johnson signed for it and it was in her garage. I profusely thanked her and asked for Mrs. Johnson’s updated phone number. When Brook sent it, it turned out to be the same number I already had, so I’m not sure what to think of that.

I also had Mrs. Johnson’s email address in my phone, so I reached out to her in that manner. I initially just asked her if that was still her email address, through the email, which I now realize is kind of a dumb. No matter, she responded with a brief “Yes.” I replied with another message apologizing for my inconvenience and asking if I could stop by this weekend to retrieve my package, and no response. I hope she’s not mad at me for some reason. It’s been years since I moved away, but we were never close, and we were always on good terms. I suppose I’ll simply get up tomorrow morning and drive my truck back to my home town and hope for the best.

Seeing my childhood home is going to create some feels, but I’m optimistic. My dad let it fall into such disarray. As long as the current owners aren’t worse than he was, the experience could even be edifying.