My other bike is jealous.

I’ve ridden the Brompton almost exclusively since I got it. I don't have the luggage system yet because the shop had run out of them at the time that I bought the bike. So I’ve been using a backpack — not ideal, but functional. One day when it was too hot to wear a backpack and I needed extra tote space, I rode my old bike which has a rear rack and a basket. The feeling was similar to switching back to a car after you’ve grown used to riding a bike – like decadent excess. And its wheels felt so HUGE! So slow to go around! And the bike itself is such a TANK. So much squishier than the Bromp. Not so nimble. Like dancing with some clod in hiking boots.

In addition to all that, I was suddenly ordinary again. No admiring stares, no envious looks, no emphatic comments, no awe, no amazement, no show-off opportunities. No nothing.

I had thought all that would get old in a hurry, but it hadn’t yet.

All of a sudden I was a little brown mouse on a brown plain, whereas I’d gotten used to being a tropical bird in a lush emerald jungle.

I switched back to the Brompton the very next day.

This is awfully fun, but I may have completely ruined the other bike. I feel bad.