The breakup needs to end

Today I was an adventurer in my own little hood. It was great! (My day, however was a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10, but that is not what this is about. It is about my adventures in the da hood.) I met a friend for a comfort-food lunch of soup and a grilled cheese. YUMMY! The place wasn't that far so I walked. It took me about 25 minutes to get there (because I walk at the pace of a snail). The whole time I kept thinking about my bike and how much quicker it would be if I rode a bike rather than walked. The hood is full of places to safely park a bike and it's Seattle, so people really don't steal anyway. The day was amazing (75 and sunny in the afternoon) so a walk was nice, but it would have been better if I could have been done the hill and back in a faster way. Due to the crap level of my day, I decided to have ice cream for dinner (yes, sometimes that happens mom. Don't worry, I'll have a healthy snack later.) My new obsession is a place called Molly Moon's ice cream. It's homemade with local, natural ingredients. The most amazing flavor ever---salted caramel. In the words of one of the favorites, it's a life changer! Seriously.

That aside, the location I go to is about 1.0 mile away. I should have walked (or biked) but I drove. As I was driving back, I started to think about my bike again...I need to end the break-up.

Let me explain-- shortly after moving to Seattle, I decided I needed to be a bicycle rider. I have a great bike and this is a city that is conducive to bike rides. I was geeked! I got the flat tired replaced, new grips, and it was all shiny and new again (not that it was ever not new.) I was excited. The beach is only 3 miles from my front door. One afternoon, I packed a lunch, a book and grabbed my helmet. And off I went. (I should have mentioned I live on a hill and not a small one. You have to go up or down no matter where you go.) So there I was riding down the 39th Street hill, just made it through the light and my brakes STOPPED WORKING! Seriously. WTF?! First, who else does that happen to? Second, why did I pay REI all that money if they didn't really fix the bike! Those were not actually my thoughts at the time. Rather, I believe I started to yell, Holy S*$T, holy S*#t, etc. I started to think through the hill, as the bike was picking up speed(there is minimal grass and luckily I had been walking so I knew right where the patch was that I needed.) Without thinking I supermanned off the bike and landed on the grass without injury. (I literally have no idea how that happened). Of course, all this happened in front of a group of people that were BBQ'ing. Awesome. One of them ran to me, one of them ran after the bike. (They still say hello when I walk past...again, awesome.) As my bike was handed back to me and I red-faced made my way back up the hill, I made the decision to break-up with my bicycle. Obviously, we were not in the same place. I wanted to be able to ride up and down hills. The bike wanted have some crazy adventure. Clearly, in different places. There was NO WAY I would ride that bike up or down a hill anytime soon! The bike (perhaps it needs a name?) has lived in my storage unit ever since. But after today, I think it's time to get back on the bike. The breakup has to end. Maybe we can be friends to start (and ride on flat land), and someday we could be back together...ride up and down the hills to greet friends and get an ice cream dinner. Here's to a future successful relationship with me and my bike! (I feel like there should be a Sesame Street song to accompany that statement...)