mr america

in 1982, i bought myself a new bicycle- a midnight blue fuji i dubbed mr. america. i was in college and in need of new wheels. in those days, no one had a car at school and we all walked or rode bikes around the small burg of walla walla. during the summers i lived in jackson, wyoming and worked at a funky little mexican restaurant called the merry piglets. i rode my bike from the tipi i lived in, situated in a meadow on the banks of the snake river to town.

the ride took me along the river, over a bridge, to a sweeping curved road past farms and with a jaw dropping view of the tetons before passing the log houses, trailer parks and gas stations that occupied the outskirts of town in the 80’s. “the piggies” as we called it, was smack in the middle of town. i would park my bike, put on an apron and sling tacos , serving up things called “wendle special” named after a local cycler, along with burritos, tacos and cheese crisps. at the end of my shift i would ride my bike to teton hot pots, a hot tub place where i had a monthly membership . for a whopping $30 the membership allowed me unlimited access to the facilities. so i’d take a quick soak , shower and then ride home to the tipi. i logged a lot of miles that summer, and the subsequent 3 summers i lived in the tipi.

mr america was purchased because at the time he was on the cutting edge of bikes. this was long before mountain bikes or other fancy forms of two wheeled transportation- cross bikes, women’s bikes, comfort bikes, cruisers ect. his sleek blue frame held special places for attaching panniers, no fenders cluttered his lean lines. at the beginning of the summer season, the ride to town challenged me. it was hard to pack up my stuff, walk out to the bike and ride through the cool mountain mornings to the taco shack. jackson is at 7000 feet so the change from the lower elevation of walla walla made my red blood cells work hard. by a few weeks into the summer, i was hopping on mr. america, peddling my way to work and arriving without fanfare.

i rode mr america for pleasure too. along the base of the gro ventres mountains to slide lake, down to hoback junction to watch the snake river tumble over rocks and through the narrow canyon. in the wee hours , up to grand teton national park to meet the love of my life for breakfast, watching the run rise on the tetons. i rode him over teton pass and back one day , just to see if i could. probably my most accomplished physical feat ever- from 7000 feet to 11000 and back!

back at school, mr america got ridden primarily on weekends out in the wheat fields of walla walla. i ‘d get up early, stuff some wheat thins and bananas in my pockets , fill up the water bottle and peddle out past farms and fields. when i went to grad school i rode mr america in the city streets of new haven. past gothic campus buildings, through gritty neighborhoods and home again.

over the years i rode him less and less. i got a car. i live in the city. i drive to work through heavy traffic at odd hours. now i am a mother to two.

this week i bought a double burley bike trailer for the girls. summer is coming and i am hoping to rekindle my love of riding for pleasure. i’m getting a new bike soon. i looked at mr america, standing in the corner of the garden shed. a light coating of dust coats his still lean lines. sadly, it is time for mr america to give someone else freedom, adventure and pleasure. he has seen me through 5 cities, college, grad school, love, breakups, hangovers, life. i will be sad to see him go.