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自転車を買う
雅子さんは、これから買わなくてはならない品を書き込んだ買い物リストを持っています。自転車もそのひとつ。ボストンを移動するには自転車が一番速い交通手段だからです。先日、評判の良い自転車店の前を、たまたま通りかかった雅子さんは…。
Buying a Bike
By MASAKO YAMADA
I have a list of things to buy on a bulletin board in my room. I think I'm a bit unusual for a young woman in that I don't like shopping too much. I, therefore, have to force myself to buy the things that I need. I bought a $40 (¥5,400) rice steamer after months of telling myself that it would help me greatly. I used to watch the rice carefully while it cooked in a plain pot.
I have just fulfilled another wish on my list by buying a new bicycle. Although I like walking around town and I'm a fan of public transportation, I have always known that bicycling is often the fastest way to get from place to place in Boston.
My bike-riding roommate, Alex, almost always gets to school faster than I do, regardless of whether I take the T that runs in front of our house or the Boston University shuttle bus that stops nearby. A trip to Harvard Square from our place takes at least 25 minutes by bus or 45 minutes by T. By bike, it takes only 15 to 20 minutes.
Although it takes me a while to decide to go shopping, I'm usually quite decisive once I'm in the store. Perhaps this is because I want to get out of the store fast. Anyway, my boyfriend and I happened to be walking by a bicycle store that we had heard was good and we went inside to take a look.
I had very little trouble selecting a bike. Rather, I should say that the bike had little trouble selecting me. In a shop filled with professional fiberglass racers and multithousand-dollar mountain bikes, it was the only model in my price range. I had no trouble agreeing to buy it, however, since it was a nice bike. Even my frugal boyfriend agreed that it was a good value — so much so that he bought one for himself.
The next step was buying a lock. One of the things that must surprise the casual Japanese observer of American city culture is seeing people walk around with bicycle seats in their hands. Sometimes, there are even people who walk around with entire bicycle wheels.
Even though almost all of them lock their bicycles to a post when they park their bikes, they feel they must take this additional step in order to prevent the theft of parts. Many bicycles, including mine, have seats and wheels that release automatically at the twist of a lever. These removable parts are very tempting to petty thieves and pranksters.
I don't want to carry bike parts around with me, so I need to use three locks for my bike: a solid one to lock the frame and back wheel to the post and two flexible ones to lock the seat to the frame and the front wheel to the frame.
Fortunately, I travel in relatively safe neighborhoods and I keep my bike inside my apartment closet when I'm home, so I didn't have to get the most rugged New York style locks. The commercially marketed New York locks seem virtually indestructible, although I must say that while I was in New York, I saw even tougher-looking impromptu locks that looked like they were made from chains used to anchor ships.
After the mechanic in the bike shop made some adjustments, we drove out of the bicycle shop with our new bikes and rode home. It was a bumpy ride for me, since I hadn't really ridden a bike since I was in middle school.
I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to touch the ground with my feet while sitting on the seat, so stopping at red lights was hard. I kept on falling over until my slightly exasperated boyfriend said that I had to slide off the seat and straddle the frame, not the seat, when stopping.
We took a trip to the neighboring suburbs the following day. These are areas where I have gone only once or twice during my five years in Boston. We saw many interesting shops along the way and we even rode on a scenic bike trail by a small lake. It was exciting, only I became very tired along the way. I actually fell off my bike once while going up a slight incline, since I was too tired to pedal. It made me realize that I had forgotten an important purchase while I was at the bike shop: a helmet.
I have a list of things to buy on a bulletin board in my room. I think I'm a bit unusual for a young woman in that I don't like shopping too much. I, therefore, have to force myself to buy the things that I need. I bought a $40 (¥5,400) rice steamer after months of telling myself that it would help me greatly. I used to watch the rice carefully while it cooked in a plain pot.
I have just fulfilled another wish on my list by buying a new bicycle. Although I like walking around town and I'm a fan of public transportation, I have always known that bicycling is often the fastest way to get from place to place in Boston.
My bike-riding roommate, Alex, almost always gets to school faster than I do, regardless of whether I take the T that runs in front of our house or the Boston University shuttle bus that stops nearby. A trip to Harvard Square from our place takes at least 25 minutes by bus or 45 minutes by T. By bike, it takes only 15 to 20 minutes.
Although it takes me a while to decide to go shopping, I'm usually quite decisive once I'm in the store. Perhaps this is because I want to get out of the store fast. Anyway, my boyfriend and I happened to be walking by a bicycle store that we had heard was good and we went inside to take a look.
I had very little trouble selecting a bike. Rather, I should say that the bike had little trouble selecting me. In a shop filled with professional fiberglass racers and multithousand-dollar mountain bikes, it was the only model in my price range. I had no trouble agreeing to buy it, however, since it was a nice bike. Even my frugal boyfriend agreed that it was a good value — so much so that he bought one for himself.
The next step was buying a lock. One of the things that must surprise the casual Japanese observer of American city culture is seeing people walk around with bicycle seats in their hands. Sometimes, there are even people who walk around with entire bicycle wheels.
Even though almost all of them lock their bicycles to a post when they park their bikes, they feel they must take this additional step in order to prevent the theft of parts. Many bicycles, including mine, have seats and wheels that release automatically at the twist of a lever. These removable parts are very tempting to petty thieves and pranksters.
I don't want to carry bike parts around with me, so I need to use three locks for my bike: a solid one to lock the frame and back wheel to the post and two flexible ones to lock the seat to the frame and the front wheel to the frame.
Fortunately, I travel in relatively safe neighborhoods and I keep my bike inside my apartment closet when I'm home, so I didn't have to get the most rugged New York style locks. The commercially marketed New York locks seem virtually indestructible, although I must say that while I was in New York, I saw even tougher-looking impromptu locks that looked like they were made from chains used to anchor ships.
After the mechanic in the bike shop made some adjustments, we drove out of the bicycle shop with our new bikes and rode home. It was a bumpy ride for me, since I hadn't really ridden a bike since I was in middle school.
I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to touch the ground with my feet while sitting on the seat, so stopping at red lights was hard. I kept on falling over until my slightly exasperated boyfriend said that I had to slide off the seat and straddle the frame, not the seat, when stopping.
We took a trip to the neighboring suburbs the following day. These are areas where I have gone only once or twice during my five years in Boston. We saw many interesting shops along the way and we even rode on a scenic bike trail by a small lake. It was exciting, only I became very tired along the way. I actually fell off my bike once while going up a slight incline, since I was too tired to pedal. It made me realize that I had forgotten an important purchase while I was at the bike shop: a helmet.
Shukan ST: Oct. 16, 1998
(C) All rights reserved
- bulletin board
- 掲示板
- rice steamer
- 炊飯器
- plain pot
- 普通の鍋
- (have)fulfilled another wish
- もう一つの願い事をかなえた
- public transportation
- 公共交通機関
- regardless of whether I take 〜 or 〜
- 私が 〜 に乗ろうと 〜 に乗ろうと
- T
- ボストンの地下鉄 T。
- Harvard Square
- ハーバード大学の前にある広場
- decisive
- 決断力のある
- happened to 〜
- たまたま 〜 だった
- Rather
- というよりも
- professional fiberglass racers
- プロ向けのファイバーグラス製のレース用自転車
- multithousand-dollar
- 数千ドルの
- model in my price range
- 私の予算内の型
- had no trouble 〜
- なんなく 〜 した
- frugal
- 倹約家の
- good value
- お値打ち品
- so much so that 〜
- とてもお得なので 〜
- casual
- ひょっこりやってきた
- observer of 〜
- 〜 を見て歩く人
- entire bicycle wheels
- 自転車の車輪丸ごと
- post
- 柱
- additional step
- さらなる措置
- prevent 〜
- 〜 を防ぐ
- theft
- 盗難
- automatically
- 自動的に
- at the twist of a lever
- レバーをひねるだけで
- removable
- 取り外せる
- (are)tempting to 〜
- 〜 の心をそそる
- petty thieves
- こそ泥
- pranksters
- いたずら者
- solid
- しっかりした
- flexible
- 柔軟な
- Fortunately
- 運よく
- relatively safe neighborhoods
- 比較的安全な近場
- rugged
- 頑丈な
- commercially marketed
- 売り出されている
- virtually
- 事実上
- indestructible
- 壊すことができない
- even tougher-looking
- それよりさらに丈夫そうな
- impromptu
- 手作りの
- anchor
- イカリをおろして停泊させる
- adjustments
- 調節
- bumpy
- ぎくしゃくした
- middle school
- 中学校
- touch the ground with my feet
- 地面に足をつく
- falling over
- 転倒する
- slightly exasperated
- ちょっといらいらした
- slide off the seat
- サドルから滑り降りる
- straddle
- またがる
- suburbs
- 郊外
- scenic bike trail
- 景色のいい自転車用道路
- actually
- 実際
- incline
- 坂
- purchase
- 買い物