Several things have given me real pleasure since moving to Live Oak last summer. One of them is my mountain bike.
As small as Live Oak is, Wal-Mart is the only place that I know of to purchase a nice, new bike. Though I would have preferred to go to some locally owned bike shop in Tallahassee or Lake City, I drive a car with a rear spoiler, which is not conducive to a bike rack on the trunk.
The easiest thing for me to do was to jog the three miles down to Wal-Mart, wallet in hand, buy the bike, and then ride it back.
This is what I did. Only, I was riding through the streets of Live Oak on the way back to my house, I noticed that the seat felt like it was closer to the handle bars than what I was used to. My stomach, hips and knees were all more compressed. Also, the handle bars themselves seemed shorter, and I found myself wanting to grip the very outer parts of the rubber handles.
When I got home, upon reading the manual, I discovered that I had purchased a woman’s bike.
So I rode it back and exchanged it for the largest mountain bike on the rack, the Genesis TwoNiner. It has 29 inch wheels, larger than any bike I ever rode as I kid. When I stand up on the pedals, I am significantly taller than on the bikes with 26 inch wheels.
Though the Genesis TwoNiner does not coast as well as I would like, it has opened up a new world for me. That first Saturday with it, I rode for six hours straight, out of the city south toward Branford and the Suwannee River boundary for the county.
This place truly is rural. I can go in any direction from my house, and within short order be riding my bike down dirt roads, past cotton fields and horse or cow pastures. Not many cars pass me on these county roads.
The size of some of the farms that I ride past is very impressive, with big plantation style homes and fields that stretch almost to the horizon. Lots of people in Live Oak drive the huge trucks, Chevy Silverados, Ford F150s or F250s. Out here, the farmers put those vehicles to work.
I have been chased by a couple of big dogs during my rides through the countryside, of course. One dog was not that serious and let me outrun him.
The other, though, obviously just had puppies, which were running around in the yard. The fur and skin on top of the mother’s snout wrinkled up in a snarl and she locked eyes with me. I had to dismount and use my bike as a shield in a standoff until the owner came running out and retrieved the bitch.
After that incident, I purchased a small canister of pepper spray to carry in my pocket, though I would prefer not to mace a nursing mother.
Each time I ride past a cow pasture, all the cows in the field stop eating the grass and stare at me. A couple of young calves came to the electric wire fence to check me out as I rode by one afternoon. When I got close, I had to laugh as they took off running away from me.
One of the most beautiful sunsets that I have ever seen was from my bike as I rode here in Suwannee County, looking out over a pasture with cows and a stand of oak trees.
The days are much shorter now than when I first purchased the bike in the fall. So I bought some lights for my bike, a white head light for the handle bars and a red light for over the rear reflector, and now I am the Knight Rider. I got to see most of the Christmas light decorations in Live Oak in December, exploring the small neighborhoods after dark on my bike.
It occurs to me that many of my hobbies are solitary pursuits: Bike riding, star gazing with my telescope, jogging, writing blog entries and a novel. I usually go to the local bars alone as well.
Though I hope to be able to play softball again in the summer, which will of course be a team activity, I am used to being by myself. I do not get bored. I have said in the past that it would be nice to have a female for company every so often. But this is a pretty happy time in my life, and things are cruising along. My parents are in fairly good health, and I try to enjoy their company for as long as that can last.
As the sun begins to set later each day again, I will look forward to more bike rides through town and through the countryside of Suwannee County, watching more sunsets over fields, pastures and oak trees.
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