I promised my boyfriend i would not write a mushy “LOVE” blog today, so instead, i will talk about.....GEAR.

I have learnt a whole new vocabulary for different types of bike gear in the last 10 days. For example...did you know that a “derailer” is the little metal triangle-like-entity that pushes the chain so that you can switch your gears?

Or did you know that the names for the long, thin metal pieces that hold the wheel together are called “spokes”?

And did you know that “fenders” keep you from getting water on yourself when it’s raining and that “paniers” are like backpacks that strap to the “racks” of your bikes?

OK, maybe YOU know all this....but 2 months ago, i barely even knew how to shift my gears, and what the purpose of gears even was; you could ask me my opinion on Obama’s Immigration Policy, or my thoughts on the current recession, but if you asked me about bicycle terminology....i wouldnt really know what what what!...o como se dice en espaniol...."ESTABA PERDIDA!”

And yet, here i am 2 months later, learning something new about the world of cycling everyday. I KNOW HOW TO TAKE OFF MY FRONT TIRE!!! And i learnt how to set up a bike rack to the back of our car back in LA!!! It’s funny (and fascinating), how we have the ability to pick up a skill by practicing and committing to the possibility of growth. I feel stronger knowing all these new things; and i feel like a whole new part of the world that i had no idea existed, has opened itself up to me. Cycling is a new skill i am working hard daily to acquire. TO BE, OR NOT TO BE....A BETTER CYCLIST? THAT IS THE QUESTION....AND THAT IS ALSO THE CHOICE...that i have made, and through determination, will, and challenging myself up those 10,000 foot hills, this pedaling poet is hoping to wake up one day (in the next 75) and realize that she has indeed, become....a cyclist.

"Til the Wheels fall Off" by Kelis