Let's go on a trek!

I scarificed my run today and went to the bicycle shop instead.

Truth be told, it was probably a good idea not running tonight. Like all past Ramadans, I have not been sleeping well and I know I am tired. My right knee also felt "loose" on the last run and I think the muscles were not strong enough to hold the knee in place, probably because the orthotics had changed my gait and I now engaged different facets of the same muscle group.

No knock on them but these shops do not stay open till late. I visited one that did not look very impressive close to my home, arriving at 7.45pm to find them shutting down yesterday and I told myself I needed to get there earlier. Which is a little difficult seeing I only leave the office 6pm and have to travel home. Kamal provided me with the addresses this time and I got to one of the more decent shops along the East Coast at 7.35pm. The proprietor, Nick, spent time telling me about bicycles notwithstanding he was shutting down 8pm; I left 8.20pm.

My plan is to get a decent but not expensive, bicycle for when Nisa, Jamie and I live in Singapore. The way petrol prices are going, and the costs and inconvenience of driving around would make riding around and about a pretty sensible option. I had already made up my mind that trips to the petrol station to buy milk, drinks, ice would be on a bicycle. The same with going to the hawker centre to buy food, and to the provision shops to buy groceries and the like. No serious distances will be travelled and Lance need never to feel threatened whenever I got onto the bike. No off-roading too. After this download to Nick, he promptly pronounced that I should get a hybrid.

I had never heard of a hybrid bicycle before. It is a cross between a road and mountain bike. The more polite amongst the cycling community would not refer to this as a commuter bike and those that ride like the wind have called this "the bike you ride for charity events". All said, it did make sense and I am now giving this serious thought. The fact that the price fell within my budget also made it compelling. Plus, the frame was branded! I asked Nick if it came in other colours and he actually had to pause to recall - during which I silently told myself I probably sounded shallow to him to be asking about colour and not performance specs. Oh well - I'm effectively a newbie at this so I guess its ok.

The bicycle will not replace my running; and at this stage, I cannot imagine anything will. The bicycle will serve exactly as what I intend, and maybe a little more in my using it to explore new running routes before Nisa and I actually embark on them. I'll be making my decision to buy in the next few days but until then, it'll be going onto the internet to find out more.