Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

Today I will be saying goodbye to an old friend, Big Red.  Big Red is the mountain bike we bought a little over thirty years ago.  I have had many fun adventures on that bike.  We've been all over Brazos Bend State Park, up and down neighborhood streets, on the mountains of Crested Butte, and on a few Moonlight Madness rides. For many a year Red would be strapped onto the back of the car and went on camping trips, day trips and vacations.  In between adventures she has done a bit of sitting.  When we lived in the condo Big Red got to ride in the elevator and lived not in bike barn on the property but in the entryway or study.  Don't judge, it made me feel like Roy and I were still in college only we never rode our bikes to class.  Several years ago after losing my sense of balance and functional fitness, my doctor recommended I start riding a bike to regain some of my balance.  It was a surprise that when I tried to get on the bike, I couldn't without feeling like I was going to fall.  Big Red is a boy's frame bike and the Schwinn dealer told me the boy's bike frame would make my bike a lot sturdier on rough rides but now it only hindered attempts of riding any of the nature trails around us.  The few times I tried to ride there was at least one bike spill in a very short distance.  So we bought a girl bike and this time a road bike that would be fine on the trails in Rancho de Five.  I still had the balance problem and my legs bore the varicose veins of older age and the knee and calf scabs of childhood.  Both of those combined is not a good look.  Truthfully on their own, not a good look. Today, we are bringing home a Trek for me.  Since it is like a recumbent bike it is less stressful on my knees and because of the low profile even on windy days it is fun to ride.  The bike place where we buy Treks has offered a fair price for both Big Red and Roy's mountain bike.  I hate to see Red go, but we need the space that the two unmoved bikes take.  It is good to know that Big Red is going to a good home and will be used like a townie bike and not just going to the scrap heap.  So goodbye good and faithful bike.  Our friendship was sealed in miles and joy filled through adventure.