Been thinking of riding a bike to save gas and get exercise.

I have to trick myself into the idea that I'm being Green and that I'll save money on gas, because if I thought I was only doing it for exercise, I'd never get on a bike. It'd be collecting dust like all the exercise equipment I ever bought that I ended up using to hang my t-shirts on to dry.

Also, who am I kidding? I'm living on a farm on a dirt road 5000 miles from anywhere I want to be riding a bike.

Yet I dream of being on a bike like all my LA friends are doing now.

At a WalMart I find a Mongoose Bike that looks kinda cool with its deconstructed frame and shock absorbers and stuff I'm sure I'll need. It was sitting outside next to the Garden Center just teasing me with its Silver shinny look bright in the sunlight.

I asked a young guy moving lawn equipment, probably the youngest employee of WalMart I've ever seen, if it was okay to try it on for size?

"Go for it!"

I swing my leg over it and sit. It feels good to be on a bike. I like it. It's the perfect size for me. The pedals are in the right place. My arms are the perfect length to reach the handle bars without looking desperate. This could be my bike.

I push off to try and do a short loop, but the bike jerks out from under me and I fall sideways to the concrete scratching my left cheek in the spill.

"You okay?"

Seems there is a policy of attaching a small cable to the rear wheel to prevent theft.