Writer’s block
I realized last night that one reason I don’t write more here is that I was thinking of it more as a “publication” for some version of the “public” when in reality it’s a letter to about 40 friends, family and acquaintances. So I’ll try and write a bit more often and a bit less polished.
Bikes!
I bought a bike a few years back, a no-frills late 20th century Trek that reminded me of my bike that I loved that was stolen. But when I rode it, I ended up with one or both of my arms going numb. The nerves in my arms sometimes don’t cooperate. This makes me sad because I really enjoy riding my bike around the neighborhood.
In the last year or two, a nonprofit has started an e-bike sharing program called Pike Ride. After seeing students cruise around on them, I decided to give them a try last week.
They are so much fun! The electric motor kicks in a second after you start pedaling and gives you a gentle but noticeable boost. It doesn’t supercharge your speed, but makes it very easy to keep up a good speed with gentle pedaling. It really is apparent on hills where I feel like I don’t need to increase my effort and the motor makes up for it.
I wanted to ride them anyway, but finding out that I get up to 90 minutes free a day because Pike Ride has a deal with Colorado College is even better. And the bike rack above is a block from my house, and there’s another one a few blocks further away so there’s always one nearby.
I have had a little problem with the arm numbness, but not as much or as immediately as with my bike, so I think that probably means different handlebar positions are helpful for me. So for now I’m planning to ride any day with decent weather and explore my neighborhood a bit. I biked around the cemetery yesterday—maybe next time I’ll bring my camera.
And yes, mom and dad, I wear my helmet.
Reading, watching, listening
I’d heard there was a streaming movie about a girl who makes zines called Moxie, and then I heard there was a book that was better, and then in the Northwestern alumni magazine I read that the woman who wrote the book was an NU alumna, so I got the book from a library.
And it was OK. The outline of the plot—shy girl resents boys getting away with stuff, makes a secret zine about girl power, makes friends including some unlikely ones, and gets the cool boyfriend in the process—felt like it could have been a Beverly Cleary book from the late 1960s, updated to include more frank talk about sex and sexism. But it’s also one of those books where the author makes sure to get in some important culture from the previous generation, in this case Riot Grrrl and Bikini Kill/Kathleen Hannah.
So that led me to watch the documentary The Punk Singer which I had been meaning to do for a while…
…and to listen to a bunch of Bikini Kill.
So that’s what I’ve been up to lately! I’d love to hear from you, too.
Love,
Steve
This is what I always tell people about ebikes--it's like riding a bike when you were a kid again. Like, when I was 11 I don't ever remember thinking, "Oh, that's awfully far" or "But there's that hill" or "My chest is going to seize up if I do that" or whatever. I just rode my bike. And now I get to do that again. (With a helmet.)
I forgot to say that one of my favorite parts of The Punk Singer was Kathleen Hannah remembering that she was in a writing workshop run by Kathy Acker who told her "don't be a spoken-word poet, no one listens to them. Start a band."