Bike Shopping

After spending the morning at Vazquez Rocks, we spent the afternoon with my sister and her family at their home in Santa Clarita. The kids went swimming in their association's pool, while my brother-in-law Eddie and I went on some errands. He needed to get some food, and I needed to go bike-shopping with someone who knows something about bikes. Eddie, who once rode his bike from California to Florida, qualified.

We went first to Sports Chalet. The selection there was not bad. Eddie pointed out the features to me and helped me compare the pros and cons of the various models. Then we poked our heads in at the Wal-Mart next door. However, there aren't many pros to the bikes at Wal-Mart, and I worried that, riding one of those bikes, I'd leave a wake of bike parts on the road behind me.

As we drove around town, Eddie talked about his own experiences commuting to work by bike. (He works for the city of Santa Clarita.) He enjoys it, even though some of his co-workers give him strange looks when he arrives wearing his bike shorts and helmet. "They probably think I'm a bit of a dork," he said.

I talked Eddie into making one last stop, a local bike shop. I started looking at the bikes there, and turned around to ask Eddie his opinion, but he was wandering around the store with his eyes lit up. This was his candy store. He did help me select a bike, though, the best of all the ones we'd looked at that were in my price range. The bike had to be assembled, so we went to the grocery store and then back to his house. After feeding me dinner, Eddie then took me back to the bike shop to get my bike. How cool can a brother-in-law be?

The plan was for Eddie to bring my bike down to Long Beach on Sunday in his minivan. His family was planning on being present for my first Sunday at my new congregation. However, Saturday night his daughter got sick, and they weren't able to make it. It's OK, though, since I'm still waiting for the key to my Metro bike locker to arrive in the mail. I expect it will be next week before I'm riding my bike from the Metro station to church.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, my first Sunday at church went great. My family and I were warmly welcomed, and after worship, there was a potluck with plenty of food. Yes, my new congregation fed me (and fed me well), which means the folks there are every bit as cool as my brother-in-law. Perhaps they'll even get used to the sight of their pastor arriving at church on his bike. However, I don't know if they'd ever get used to their pastor arriving wearing bike shorts ... and I don't plan to find out.