My Red Bike

ONE DAY, Kent Peterson bought a red Dahon Curve and he has been waxing poetic about it ever since.

I ride my red bike here and there,
I ride my red bike everywhere.

I take my red bike on a bus,
On the street folks question us.

"How fast does that red bike go?"
"As fast as I pedal, don't you know."

"Does it have the gears you need?"
"I've found three give needed speed.

"One for up and one for down,
One for riding in the town."

"Can you ride it in the night?"
"Yes, I have a little light."

"Do you ride it near and far?"
"Yes, every place you'd take a car."

"Can you take things on your bike?"
"A rack and sack hold all I like."

"My bike goes with me on the train,
I ride in sun, I ride in rain."

"I ride to the store and to the bank,
I never put gas in a tank."

"I fuel at the grocery store,
I ride and eat then ride some more."

"I have a red bike that I like,
I'm glad I have this folding bike."

Kent Peterson currently works as the shop manager for Bike Works, a non-profit organization located in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle. The group teaches bike repair to kids and adults, leads kids bike tours and camps in the summer, runs a neighborhood bike shop that repairs and sells refurbished bikes and works with the Village Bicycle Project to send bikes to Ghana and El Salvador.

Kent cycles 18 miles each way to and from work every day and maintains a blog dedicated to biking. For more of Kent’s musings on his love of bikes visit: http://kentsbike.blogspot.com.

Q: What inspired you to write the poem and how long did it take to write?

KP: Mostly it was the comments and questions I got about the bike. People really like the Dahon on sight, but seem to have a hard time believing it’s a “real” bike. The poem pretty much came to me on one of my commute trips. I pretty much typed it out in its final form when I got home.

Q: You mention on your blog that you and your wife do not drive a car. When was the last time you drove and what prompted you to forgo driving?

KP: We got rid of our last car 22 years ago and I guess that’s the last time I drove. Both my wife and I let our driving licenses lapse years ago. A friend once said to me “But deep down, you hate cars, right?” I found myself telling him, “No, I love bicycles.” I don’t hate cars; I hate the sprawl we’ve built for cars, and as Mr. T would say, “I pity the fools” stuck inside those boxes.

Q: How much time do you spend on your bike blog and what do you like about writing it?

KP: It varies. I only post when I feel I have something of value to put up there. Some posts are quick, five-minute items I’ve found interesting. Other things are more detailed ride reports, essays or stories. Like everything else in my life, I don’t bother tracking time I spend doing things I enjoy. As for satisfaction, I like chatting with folks about bikes and riding. The blog is just another avenue for that conversation.