NAME: Isaac
LOCATION: Johnson City, TN
OCCUPATION: In between... bike shop groupie
Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I’m near the quaint downtown of Johnson City, TN. There is very little infrastructure to get around car-free. I’ve been doing it now for almost four years and am easily “the bike commuter” of the town. The roads aren’t friendly. The drivers aren’t friendly. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good people here, but I’ve never heard of a small city of 57,000 having so many crashes due to cars and animals and assaults and poor road/street sign/sidewalk/bike lane maintenance... the list goes on. This last year many more people started to ride to get around, and I believe it has made traffic, and potential riders, more aware of how to interact safely. We have discouraging terrain as well as a spread out city layout, and yet I feel more and more like I’m finally not the only one willing to tough it out. The bike boom is hitting here now, and made a huge difference for those of us that were doing this as lone commuters.
What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?
Knoxville is fun. It just seems that it has so many good elements. Dense sections of town sprinkled in the Smokey Mountains, not all hills, not all flat. You can easily meet other urban riders willing to take it easy, goof off, drink a few beers, and put the hurt on through the pedals at a moments notice. There are easy going group rides as well as grueling alleycats. It’s easy to have a vintage steel throw-down one-day and ride a century with your superbike the next. Not really a whole lot else to say ‘bout that.
Why do you love riding in the city?
I think it comes down to personal goals that get tested daily, forming real self-reliance. I loved riding BMX and such as a kid and somehow turned into a couch-potato. I got on the old Schwinn 10-speed and bikes were fun again. “How did I ever forget?” I wondered. The more you’re out there, the stronger you get physically and mentally. I like to call it “two wheel zen.” It takes much of the other bullshit we rely on out of the picture and things become more “human.” Things get “real.” A nasty crash put me in the hospital with broken bones and a collapsed lung, not to mention a bruised ego. I came back stronger than ever. It has been tough, but the lessons I learn on the bike are why I love riding. I know what’s at stake every time I make a move now. I learned how to do this right. Through the attraction of fun I have been forced to become self-reliant. Through self-reliance the bike has made me into a strong man. It’s a beautiful relationship.
Poetry anyone?
I change my own tube
I dial my brakes and overhaul bearings
I smell like fresh lube
Back when I was twelve
I wore baggy pants; spandex was lame
And look at me now
Chromoly tubes with steel lugs
Light, stiff, and tough like a tank
I love riding city streets
“For Damon, R.I.P.”
Cannondale, my fallen brother’s bike
I will ride it to new heights
I will never forget you
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