One of the defining moments of my life was when I was watching The Little Rascals and I was introduced to Randy Newman’s song, Short People. The opening line goes “short people don’t got no reason to live.”
As I’ve mentioned before, bike sizing is always a challenge with me because of my height. Even though I have the smallest bike frame you can get (49cm) for a Raleigh, I’m still a little uncomfortable with how high the seat is, and I have it down to the max. I think I may need a new seat post. I decided that I would practice dismounting because maybe it’s an issue of me getting comfortable with the bike. I’m sure the neighbors got a good laugh at me today with me practicing dismounting but I think I have it down. The whole thing made me laugh because I thought about last summer when my friend got me off of my bike and told me I was riding too low, and raised my seat to my handlebars. I thought he was crazy but he was right. It’s funny, even though I put miles upon miles on my bikes over the years, I never took the time to learn about them until last year.
Riding around my suburban neighborhood is starting to bore me. I did get to see an armadillo today, so that was a win. It’s stunning because I live next to such a beautiful river and I think it would be wonderful if it had a trail alongside it like the Corning Trail in Albany. However, it’s not to say Florida doesn’t have interesting bike trails. Today, my stepdad sent me a link to bikeflorida.net and in the Everglades there is the Shark Valley Trail where alligators nap alongside the trail!
I really don’t know what I would do if I saw a gator straight chilling on the trail. Actually, where I live, there are three alligators in our canal, so I guess I will have an encounter with them sooner or later. Hopefully it will be a friendly one. On my ride today, I did see the bear that my host family kept talking about the other day and I found out how fast my bike really is.
I’m noticing a sharp transition in my style. I see that I am dressing sportier now than ever before. For the past couple of years, I’ve been all about dresses and tights, but now that I live in Florida, tights are a no go, and as for dresses, I find that I’m wearing less of them. I think it’s because I’m on either on the go or in an office all of the time and leggings, a tshirt, and my beloved Vibrams are just easier because I don’t have to be conscious about how I’m sitting and what not but I feel that once I get to Newark, I will go back to the skirts and tights again. I’m trying really hard to not go crazy on summer wear and shorts. Ever since I came to Florida in March, it’s been a steady 70 degrees and up and everyone is telling me that it’s going to get hotter.
The other night, I was talking with my new host mom and she was asking me where I went to college, so I showed her the website of my undergrad and memories came shooting back. I am so guilty of saying this, but if there is anything I could relive, it would be my college years.
