BIcycles.

Since I have been in Chicago, seeing all the people riding their bikes in the city, I have become, once again, infatuated with bikes. I feel like a little kid again, in a sense, because as I walk around downtown, or when I am driving and I see people on their bikes, I slow down and take a look at the different styles and colors and, to an extent, want to say, "hey, can I ride with you?"

I have little to now experience riding road bikes; you know, the kind with the thin tires and the curved handle bars that you have to hunch over. But Dick Towner, the man I am living with (that sounds akward, so for those that don't know, I am living with a family here in the Chicago Suburbs) has an old Schwinn road bike that I have been cruising around on. I love riding this in the city because of the feeling of being able to ride in the streets alongside the cars, and for the most part, keep up with traffic.

When I worked in downtown San Antonio, there was something about bike cops that caught my attention. I think it was that they were gtting paid to ride around the streets of the city on bikes rather than in cars, which allowed them to enjoy, at least a little bit, the environment that they were in. They got to see the sights and sounds, and we free to go as fast or as slow as they wanted. Thing is, they were still cops. Nothing against cops (I love you josh dean), but I just don't want to be one. Then, while riding downtown Chicago one day, I discovered a profession that I never even thought about, that doesn't necessarily take away my passion for ministry, but gives it a bit of a run for it's money: a Bike Messenger!

Bike messengers are a unique type of people. I don't know if I could fit in exactly with their lifestyle, and their lack of fear when flying through red lights and around corners, but there is stll something really cool about the types of bikes they ride, and their style of clothing.

The bikes: much like bmx bikes, they offer a freedom in building and creating the bike yourself. You don't just buy a complete messenger bike (though, you can if you want), you build one out of parts of other bikes, can paint it however you like. Thats one thing I like about my bmx: if i want to paint is solid black, I can. If I want to paint it neon yellow, I can, and it's not out of the ordinary. I like the freedom there.
The style: Messenger bags, which are so popular now. You may have seen college students, or even John Hinkebein with one. Its the one-strap bag thats popular these days. And short pants, or, "shants" as some people call them. They are 3/4 pants, either made that way, or you can take regular pants and cut them at the calf. (Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "capris? like girl pants?" but no, these are guy pants, VERY different...) This style if so you don't get your pants caught in the chain on the bike.

This may all seem a bit confusing. But I will take a picture next time I am in the city and post it for you all. Longong story short, I decided that with some of my free time, I am going to start building bikes. I love working on bikes, and tinkering with gears, and parts and such. My first project: a messenger bike. So, if you have bike parts laying around, or if you had an old bike that you wanted to throw away, or sell at a garage sale, let me know, and I'll see if I can help you clean out your garage for the winter.

You may not have read all the way through this. Maybe you just skpped to the bottom. But thanks for checking out the blog anyway. Good days!