First, a prelude of how I got (back) into cycling:

At the end of the 2025, I moved house and the new place had pretty good access to off-road bike trails and bike friendly roads all around (“pretty good” by North American suburban standards, that is). I wanted to get into biking and take advantage of this situation. The last time I rode a bike regularly (or ever!) was in high school, in a Chinese city where biking wasn’t a hobby—it was just how you got around. The only time I remember it being fun was in 6th grade, when I had a tiny mountain bike (with gears!) and rode to school feeling extremely cool.

But that was 20 years ago, and with my record of collecting hobbies and leaving them behind, I didn’t want to invest in a ton of money in case I did not enjoy it as a hobby. So I went on Facebook Marketplace, and bought a second-hand children’s bike for $80.

Why a children’s bike, you ask? Well, it was not supposed to be a children’s bike. I was looking for something that worked for my height. And because WHO HAS THE TIME TO READ THE FINE PRINT when they gotta have the thing they want NOW — when the listing said the bike is suitable for someone 52’’ tall, my 2 brain cells processed it as if it said 5'2" tall, WHICH, is the short hand for “5 feet 2 inches tall”, WHICH, is not 52, but 62 inches, who would have known! (Can you tell by now that the US Measurement System is the bane of my existence?!)

Anyhow, I picked up the bike from the parking lot of an apartment building from someone who was surely the father of a toddler who had outgrown their own 52 inches phase. It was sunset, I was so excited, and I thought bike looked OH-SO-CUTE, and so I just gave him the cash and put it in my car and drove home humming. It was not until I rode it the next day, and until my wife, a objective observer, had made a comment about “how is this bike so small” then the math finally hit me.

But fear not, i was determined to make it work. I pulled the seat up to the highest position it could be, I rode my little bike around town for about 2 weeks, each time enjoying it immensely even though the unsuitable size of the bike surely made the experience more difficult than it needed to be. I enjoyed the rides enough that I was convinced I could continue and that I should get an actual adult bike. I went around the more “pro” bike shops around the area and was sufficiently intimated away by the MAMIL staff. Not that the MAMILs weren’t nice, but they are, a little snotty even though they were trying to be helpful. If you aren’t spending thousands of dollars on a bike, then what are you even doing? Anything lower than $2,000 are surely not aero enough. And yes, of course you need to have a helmet and a backup helmet and also a $7,000 helmet that you place in a display case just for worshipping and for praying to. And for road biking, you absolutely need cleats, because it WILL make a difference at your level (local riding in a residential community, obviously).

So I discovered a very women/queer coded bike shop called https://www.pureridecycles.com/ that had women’s bikes (because my mother-in-law had a LIV bike so I got to know about them), and it was a lovely experience and I now have my bike! Wife also got one from walmart (Ozark Trail Graval Bike, very good value and solid bike) and with mine from Liv (Alight Stagger 4, color code Dry Matcha - yes, the color is very important as it sparks joy every time i look at it! ALSO it looked sporty enough to me without it being an actual road bike, i think it’s a hybrid commuter bike? Also flat bar - YES), we can now ride around town during the weekend!

↓ On the left: my children’s bike, which I was able to sell on Facebook Marketplace to the mother of a 6th grader at a reasonable price.

↓ On the right, my beloved Liv Alight Stagger 4!

I soon realized I could also just ride to work. And after some weekend trials when there are fewer cars on the road, I started riding to work at least a couple times every week.

The first few times were scary, because I was still very much not used to being alongside fast-moving cars (and probably will never and should never fully get used to it). It’s always good to have bike lanes, though sometimes it’s like they are drawn by AI. A bike lane will just disappear in the middle of a merged lane (merged with CARS), then it will magincally appear again. But it only took a few weeks of experimenting with small detours to trade the shorter distance with more bicycle friendly path through communities, parks, and bike trials - it became more and more do-able.

Now if I can’t bike to work it at least 1-2 times a week, I get sad. If I can get in my 35min / 6 mile ride before work, I arrive at the office a new woman.

I know it’s brain chemistry more than anything - you feel better after a workout. But it’s also more than that. It’s that I feel more connected to what’s around me when I travel. The time I spend in cars - though I do enjoy it very occasionally on the account of it being a solitary space - 99.9% of the time, it feels like I just sit in a metal tube and I time travel - but also I did not save any time during the travel. It would be 15min wasted in my car, or 35min where I get to experience the wind on my cheeks, I get to smell grass (literately!) and I get to hear teh birds sing and I get to see the view from the bike path I am taking, I get to feel the descend down a hill and how gravity is pulling me in, rather than sitting behind a steering wheel and, idk, just, processing information in the form of “what would this other car do in front me”. I felt so disconnected with my surroundings and myself, the way I travel and commute while sitting behind a wheel. But on a bike, my own body is the engine of this vehicle, and my mind feels free.

↓ On the left: the view on my way to work, if travelling by bike

↓ On the right, taking the balboa island ferry with my little bike - they take SUVs and bicycles and pedestrians alike! for an addition $0.25 if you have an adult bike with you. Highly recommend riding your bike around balboa island and do this at least once.

OK IF YOU MADE IT HERE, I APPRECIATE YOU.

HERE ARE THE GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS YOU HAVE LONG AWAITED FOR.

FIRST, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

**GLOVES!**

**I recommend everyone to wear gloves at all times when they are cycling.** It’s because I have fallen multiple times and every time, if I didn’t have my gloves on, it would have been a painful couple of weeks of recovery after I have scratched my palm / finger. I have learnt the hard lesson that when we fall, we use our hands to suport and protect ourselves, hopefully. So your hands are going to get it rough.
I started during the socal winter which was still not very cold, so gloves that keep you warm was not on my list, so I got these and they did just fine. They are Touch-screen compatible which is nice. I have put them through the wash a few times as well and they come out brand new every time.
Now that it is getting hotter, I upgraded to these pearl izumi fingerless ones and they are breathable and grippy. I didn’t know they are men’s but they fit me perfectly in store so I grabbed them and have been happy with them for a few month now.

Glasses

Initially I had another pair of Tifosi sunglasses which was great, but when it gets dark when I bike home from work, the glasses just made it darker…but I didn’t want to take it off because of the WIND and BUGS and little debris that dose become a problem. I got these and it works great both during both days and at night.

https://www.rei.com/product/220885/tifosi-rail-xc-sunglasses?redirect-pup=false

**Sun Protection**

This one could depend on where you live and the length of your hair and your dressing style…but where I am, you need pretty serious sun protection all 4 seasons and I hate sunscreen. I also do get sunburn. So even though I try to wear long sleeve and long pants when I can, I don’t want to wear a turtle neck while biking and the back of the neck is the first place I get sunburn while going on bike rides.
I am quite happy about this solution and in fact, who would have though accessorizing is so important for cycling! In the picture is a linen cloth a friend gifted me (it may have been sold as a dish cloth, to be honest). But it being 100% linen and very cute, and light and breathy and soft, made it a perfect match for this situation.
I also have a silk scarf from Everlane that I have forgotten about and never found any use for. That one is a little less breathable than the linen one. So on coolder, windier days I wear that one, and on sunny, hot days I wear the linen one.

Open Ear Headphones

Shokz Open Ear Headphones

These were purchased for swimming, but they work perfectly for cycling too. The open ear part is pretty important, because to be able to hear cars approaching or other cyclists shouting (giving you a heads up), etc. is essential when one’s on the road, especially for commuters. These are light weight and can fit under my helmet quite well. I appreciate the MP3 mode which gives me opportunities to cycle through my high school emo playlist. And when I am in MP3 mode, I can still listen to Google Maps instructions.

JUST OK

Bike Lights - Front and Rear:

https://www.rei.com/product/232767/thousand-traveler-magnetic-bike-light-20-front

https://www.rei.com/product/232768/thousand-traveler-magnetic-bike-light-20-rear

I got these because they looked classy and cute and round (颜控 i am not sorry!) and they were on sale at REI, and I wanted USB-C charged lights so that I don’t have to keep a Micro USB cable around any more. I do like the magnetic attachment style, it is really easy to just twist it on and twist it off. I typically get to work, and then twist both of them off and charge them, and then before I leave work again, I put them back on.

The front light at 300 Lumens is NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH in my opinion to do serious night cycling, but if you are going to ride on roads under street lights, these can provide enough visibility for the road ahead of you so you don’t get bounced off a giant pine cone. Would I get them again? No. But now I have them I shall keep them until there’s a need to upgrade.

The backlight is better and I see no reason to upgrade to anything else at all. It has never fell off during a ride (but i also only ride on paved roads, not one of those daring mountain bikers!). I think the most important thing for a rear light is to just have one. Having a blinking red dot on the back of your bike, I feel, as someone who has driven for years and alwasy noticed when cyclists had that light, is a good thing.

A Bike Frame Bag

So I had high hops with these because I felt like my bike had the perfect frame for this, only to realize that when the bag is tied to the bike in the recommendation position, it WILL NOT STAY IN THE MIDDLE. It will tilt to the left, or to the right, even if nothing is inside of it. Then in the middle of riding the bike I face resistance when my knees or my thigh.

So i got fed up with it and I just descided that it is no longer a top tube bag. It is now, a tube bag hang on the side, upside down!

Other than that, it is fine. I had wished if my bike had the space between the two bars to fit this, but it doesn’t. So this is an upgrade to be done in the near future.

↓理想 vs 现实