Dead End by Bike
When driving my car, I go just about the same route every time: the shortest, most efficient path between points A and B: Home, to Post Office, to Bank, to Grocery, to Home. Same old, same old. Bo-ring!
But on my bike, I notice that I’m going different routes every time! I GREW UP HERE in Burien (just south of Seattle) and yet I find myself on streets that I’ve NEVER been on before. On my bike I have a greater sense of discovery and exploration. I seek out the steepest hills I can find. I specifically veer onto every Dead End I encounter just to see “what’s down there”. I turn onto roads I’ve never turned onto before. I’ve discovered all sorts of great neighborhoods and fabulous houses.
I bought a Blix Vika+ E-Bike (Class 2—electric, pedal-assist with throttle, step-through, foldable, 20″ wheels) on May 31, and started riding the next day. In the three months since, I’ve logged 550 miles mostly toodling around Burien, with a few cruises through neighboring Normandy Park and Des Moines. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my Blix Vika has changed my life. Really.
When I’m on my bike, it’s a sensual experience. I smell the fragrant blackberries and conifers warmed on summer days. I can smell that the tide is out as I approach Three Tree Point. I hear the birds sing. I greet other cyclists. I stop to talk to neighbors and strangers along the way… That doesn’t happen when in my car.
Crazy, Random Routes of Dead Ends and Discovery
Look at some of the wild and wandering routes I’ve traveled just out of curiosity. I would never do this in my car. What a great way to get to know my City of Burien. (In the maps below, green paths show where I went fast—downhill—and yellow/orange/red are where I went slow—uphill and stop lights.)
I feel like a kid again.
In the past, I loved being a cyclist on a standard bike… but I also live on a very steep hill in a very hilly area (up to 16% Grade). From the bottom of my steep driveway, I either had to go immediately right up the slope, OR down-down-down to the Point, then up-up-up to town at the top. I could do it… until two years ago my knee said, “Nope. Sorry. Not doing this anymore.” One day I rode home one-legged: I pedaled with my right leg while my left leg hung off to the side, limp-cycling home.
Now, instead of driving my car for the roughly 4-mile round trip to the Post Office, Grocery and back, I’m riding my e-bike nearly every day for those errands. And I extend my route just to add exercise, fresh air and exploration each time.
On my e-bike: I feel like a kid again. I’m on my bike almost every day. I’m whistling and singing the whole time. Tra-la-la. And my knee is happy. I scoot right up the meanest hills I can find (and we’ve got HILLS here). When I wake up in the morning I ask myself when and where my ride will be for that day.
Maybe you have fond memories of cycling, but it’s been ages since you’ve been on a bike… maybe you’re out of shape and overweight… maybe your body parts are revolting… maybe the hills are really onerous… I urge you to go check out an electric bike. E-bikes make cycling so feasible. Like I said, it’s changed my life, and it’s brought some simple joy into my every day.