The Pug

Just about a year ago I bought a bike. It's a 1980s Peugeot Paris Express. It's heavy and old and hopelessly out-of-date, but it's mine and it's special. It played an important role in my losing around 70 pounds over the course of a year; I'm forever in its debt. I may buy a new bike at some point, but I will never get rid of the Pug.

My first ride on the Pug was a short lap around the showroom floor at the bike shop. It seemed big enough for me--I'm tall, and I was still a bit beefy at the time. A road bike just seemed a little too spindly for me at the time.

My rides started out pretty brief. Compared to more serious riders, they still are. Four, five, six mile bursts are about all my schedule can accomodate at this juncture in my life. To say I'm not on the level of "serious riders"is perhaps a disservice to how far I've come; given the time, I would likely make quick work of long distances.

A big part of losing all the weight was really trying to understand this notion of our emotional connection to food. Certain smells and tastes trigger powerful memories and emotions that either leave you happy and satisfied or wanting more. Controlling that emotion, savoring it and enjoying it for what it is, rather than letting it consume me, was a pretty key element in my long-term success. With bikes, it's sort of the same neighborhood in my brain, but it's all positive. Nothing to be controlled or regarded with caution. I ride and ride and ride and I can't get enough, and there's no real negative. Perhaps I get a bit obsessive about it, feeling anxious on days when I don't make it out for at least a few miles. Perhaps I get caught up in the volumnous amounts of bike enthusiam on the Web more than I should. There are people out there who are way, way, way more into it than I am.

There was a time when I got myself into some expensive trouble tinkering with cars. I still enjoy automobiles and I do repairs when I'm confident enough, but the days of "oh I can fix that"when I really have no idea what I'm doing are long gone. Bikes, on the other hand, are pretty simple and relatively inexpensive machines, and parts are by and large easy to come by and generally standardized and interchangeable. So I indulge my gearhead urges on the Pug.

The most recent project I undertook was the conversion from upright mountain bike handlebars to drop handlebars. It was a bit tedious (my Pug's Frenchness often proves to be the exception to the "generally standardized and interchangeable"comment above) at times, but it was fun to do.




I learned a lot about different handlebar styles and sizes, and I really like the look and functionality of the road setup. And it cost me about $40 total. Now, as a percentage of what I paid for the bike last year, an insurnance agent would have long totaled my bike than do the repairs and upgrades I have performed, but life with the Pug is truly a labor of love.

When I started losing weight, I hoped I would stick with it, and I did. When I started riding a bike again, I hoped I would stick with it, and I did. May the same go for writing about it.