The Joys of Cycling:

I’ve talked enough about law and cycling injuries this year, so let’s talk about the joys of cycling.

It all started in 1973 for me, when I regularly saw an eccentric tall high school classmate riding to school on a Schwinn Paramount racing bicycle. He wore a fishnet helmet, and seemed to be in his own world at Edison High School in Huntington Beach. I always wondered about him, he hung out at Two Wheel Transit Authority cycle shop on Main street in Huntington Beach. (I’ve often fantasized about being a bicycle mechanic in my own shop, in some remote place.)

Then, there was a lifeguard neighbor and friend named Al. He rode from home to his lifeguard tower job and seemed to like it. In contrast, I just rode a few miles to High School, then later to Orange Coast College - as I couldn’t afford a car.

Ultimately, I tore the ligaments in my knee trying to stretch a double into a triple during a baseball game, and had surgery. So, bicycling became my rehabilitation. Being a bit compulsive, Al the lifeguard talked me into riding to Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico, one Christmas. I did, and my knee healed after 1,100 miles of pedaling across Baja, with fully loaded panniers. I’ll never forget the smells, sights, and sounds as I crossed the Baja countryside for 14 days and some times into the night.

When I returned, I became a college and law school bicycle commuter for seven years, rain or shine. Riding home at night was an adventure, with a “T” light strapped to my outer leg, hoping cars saw me in the night. That sure was fun!

I grew to love cycling so much, I decided one Spring break to pack my bike in a box and fly to Lake Charles, Louisiana. That summer I bicycled solo across the South, through New Orleans to Gulf Port, Mississippi to visit a friend. The people in the remote rural gas stations, where I often stopped for a “cool drink” (cold Coke), thought I was crazy riding across the dessert all the way from California. I didn’t let on, as I liked watching them just shake their heads in bewilderment.

Well, I’m now a grown man and sure miss those days, and doing a lot of mountain bike/triathlon races – guess my priorities have changed. Nevertheless, I still ride, but not as often or as far, but when I do, work and life pressures fade away. It can be as simple as a mountain bike ride along the coast. One client recently loaned me the entire video set of Lance Armstrong wining the Tour de France. I now vicariously race through video!

You know, I’m a trial lawyer by profession and when local cyclists visit me, it always brings joy to my day. It rekindles some of my found cycling memories.

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