Mount up...we're going for a ride

Two months ago I began noticing a car in my neighborhood that always had a road bike on the trunk rack. Always. Kinda like those birds that ride around on the back of a rhinoceros just for the free ride. That's kind of what this car seemed to be doing to the bike...giving it a free ride around town and a comfy place to rest instead of the garage.

What strikes me as even more strange now is that in the throes of winter, the bike still can be found tightly tethered to the car. Does this guy ever ride the bike? Why is it every time I see this car around town or in the driveway the bike is attached? Is it more cool to be part of the biking scene by showing off your bike or is it more cool to actually ride the bike?

And to think, all these years I could have been shaving my legs, talking the talk, but never having to mount the bike and turn a pedal and I could have been a "biker." I never realized it was so simple. Almost like being a Born Again Christian.

And then I remembered my brother-in-law's two accidents wherein he drove his car into his garage because he insisted on keeping the bike on the roof for longer than necessary. Sure, he got new parts, but at a price. Biking is an expensive enough hobby, but to have to keep replacing parts because you slam dunk your rid into the garage has to take its toll.

Like this bike...granted, I believe that while the experts may deem this bike unrideable, I think they've discovered a new geometry that would be a perfect cross between a road bike and a recumbent. 

Or this bike which is somehow has gone off the deep end and is being mounted without the trays. It's like some kama sutra position for bikes..inverted and going in backwards.

And there are dozens of other mounting configurations...all designed to carry your bike to a destination where it can be ridden. I'm fine with the kama sutra bike mount as long as the bike is eventually ridden each time it is mounted. Mounting the bike, then driving around, then unmounting the bike (or worse, never unmounting the bike) is the worst form of impersonation.

If you never pedal the bike, you're only a driver. And that doesn't require shaved legs.

Two wheels for life.