When I moved to San Francisco, many years ago, it was with all my belongings stuffed into a red Yugo. Now living in the city, I figured I did not need a car, so I quickly sold it to a Yugoslavian man. I was so happy to pass it along to him, someone who would care and respect it. I was also tired of the jokes when people saw my car, or heard I had a Yugo. I then got a bike and a bus pass and thought I was fully equipped for city living. And I was. Most days I rode my bike, and if it was late, dark or raining, I hopped on the bus.

 

This was long before the bike revolution and dedicated bike lanes, green paths, partitions and even street lights just for bikes. Back then, it was just us bikers navigating lanes of traffic with cars, taxis, busses and street cars. I loved it. Sure, there were a few mishaps, tired caught in streetcar tracks, car doors opened suddenly and quick swerves, but all in all, it worked.

 

Once I became a teacher with all the stuff, you know the bags of work you bring back and forth, sometimes doing, sometimes ignoring, I got a car. Those bags were like the sandbags I see people using to add weight when they walk or exercise. For teachers, more like, unhealthy  bags of guilt.

 

Then, last year I got a new bike. An electric bike, one I could use to commute to school and back up our hill. I used it some before school closure and marveled at how much the roads and bike culture had changed since I was last a bike commuter. For one, we share the lane with all kinds of other wheeled vehicles; skateboards, scooters, and one wheels. It is a much safer time to be a bike commuter. Unfortunately, my has sat in my garage for the last year, yet another victim of stay at home orders.

 

But last week, we became a one car household (another story). My husband goes into work and so he had dibs on the one car. Since we are returning to school, I had to go in today to pack up stuff to make room for people. So, I dusted off my bike seat, re-inflated the tires and charged the battery. It was glorious. Glorious to be out of the house, glorious to ride past people and neighborhoods and just glorious to be back on my bike. I am not sure when we will get a second car, but for now, I am perfectly happy experiencing the joy of riding a bike.