Two Wheels Good

FREEDOM. I finally have a bicycle, and I can already tell it's going to change my life.

I honestly didn't mind being mostly-a-pedestrian through the winter months, and I'm grateful for how walkable Ithaca is. (At least, the downtown parts of Ithaca, not the insanely-steep-hills parts.) But having a bike expands exponentially the places I'm able to go on my own, without having to borrow a car.

For example, yesterday I ushered a show at the Hangar Theatre, which is a bit outside of town, along the lake, and it was a gorgeous day, so I biked out there along the new (or new-ish, to me) Waterfront Trail, and it was perfect. Just perfect. Then, heady over having this new freedom and independence, I went grocery shopping by bike for the first time. Getting everything back home using just my own back and the handlebars (since the bike doesn't have a basket yet) was...interesting, but I managed.

In the evening, I dropped by to see the family friend who'd offered me an old bike basket, but when I got there, he was across the street hanging out on the porch of his neighbors...who happen to be the folks I housesat for this winter.

So I joined them on their porch/what-was-once-very-briefly-my-porch, and we hung out for a while over wine and Thai food. I saw another old family friend bike past and called out to him, and he joined us for a bit, too. (It turned out he was on his way to a birthday party...of someone I went to elementary school with.) This street really might be Ithaca's friendliest, a quiet, short stretch of road that "starts nowhere and goes nowhere," but with so much neighborliness contained within its brief length. (They say they get HUNDREDS of trick-or-treaters each year, because families actually drive in from outlying areas to trick-or-treat on this street, specifically.)

Our host, the one I housesat for, asked me, So, now that you're back, what's the difference? Between Berlin and Ithaca?

I boggled at him and asked, The one difference??

Yeah! he said.

So I thought it over and tried to give a real answer. There are plenty of things I could have complained about, sure (WHY does it require a car to get anywhere in this country? Why are the grocery stores so immense and overwhelming?) but I do believe in trying to see the positive when possible...and in fact, all in all I'm very happy to be here.

So I said: I love that Ithaca has the feeling of a small town, but with the arts and culture of a big city. Like that in the afternoon I could go to a top-quality theater performance, and then in the evening hang out on a porch on a leafy green street, recognizing half the people who pass by and calling out hellos.