My Bike
January 23, 2009
I got this old Schwinn for 20 bucks from an Iraqi interpreter, on about my third day here. Haven’t intentionally walked anywhere since, barring a flat tire or two. It has two balls of duct tape for the handles. The seat is ripped up. No rear brakes and only marginal front brakes. No kickstand, fenders, or rack. The back tire rim is severely bent, causing the tire to rub-rub-rub on the frame and the bike to wobble noticeably. And I wouldn’t give it up for the WORLD. On the COB (combat operating base) I carry a pager (pretty old-school huh?), and as long as I’m on wheels I am never more than 2-5 minutes from anywhere.
Transportation is always a problem on this base for soldiers whose mission doesn’t involve a destination serviced by the troop transport shuttles. Last deployment I had my own HMMWV (high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, pronounced “humvee” if you’re wondering). Now, practically NOBODY, does except for the force protection company. There’s one Ford SUV for the entire operations center, and good luck getting that!
The other day I carried a HUGE box on my bike for mailing home to the Post Office—there’s not much I can’t carry—who needs hands? One challenge is keeping air in the tires with all the cross-country riding and the big temperature swings. Even the “paved” roads are no picnic, and I’m not quite as light as I used to be. The other challenge is keeping my clothes and weapon mud-free when the ground is wet—haven’t been too successful with that, so a lot of cleaning going on… That’s all for now, my rifle and I are going to hit the shower.
Posted by Jason Siler
