Learning to Ride a Bike

The blue building on the right is the airport. The white one
on the left is the school. My house is in front of the school.

There are no paved roads on Atka, unless you count the airport runway. There are maintained gravel roads and unmaintained gravel roads. You could probably count the cars on one hand. Most people get around using 4 wheelers, or bikes in the local vernacular.

I have access to a bike. It was languishing in the garage for a few years, until the District's maintenance guy fixed her up with a bit of this and that. Mostly, she works fine. Getting into reverse is a bit tricky, since you can't really shift into it. Instead, there's a cable running beside the seat that you have to pull on.

The village as seen from across the bay

My friend, a.k.a. the maintenance guy, taught me how to ride the bike today. It's really the only way to get around the island, especially if you want to go where the critters are, i.e. reindeer and sea lions. We drove around the bay, riding in the hills and along the beach. We stopped about halfway at the city dock, which is well-removed from the village itself. I was able to look back across the bay and see the airport, the school, and the village. That's also where my friend took pics of me.

We didn't time our ride too well. The tide was coming in, so we rode through a lot of surf on

I can ride a bike! It's hard to tell that's me under all that
clothing. Of course it's me; I'm wearing purple!

the way back. Other than that, though, it was a lot of fun. Although riding through the surf and chasing waves was a lot of fun, too! I wore all the clothing that I'd been told to get before I got here but haven't needed. Long underwear, top and bottom. A fleece-lined flannel shirt. Jeans. Heavy socks. A fleece jacket. Balaclava (that's the hood that goes over the head and neck). Goggles. Neoprene gloves. I needed every bit of it. I forgot to put my gloves back on after taking a picture; my hands felt like ice by the next time we stopped! It wasn't all that chilly, but even riding at 15-20 mph, the wind was vicious!

An adult and juvenile bald eagle on top of a little cliff.
Probably a parent and child.

Next time I go out alone, I'll take the dogs with me. There's a basket for Shadow to ride in if he has to, but I'm betting he can keep up. Cody can probably keep up, too. Or they can both go back home and wait.