we made an indulgent and expensive purchase--a bike for me. we got a good deal, but it was a significant chunk of change nonetheless and certainly not in keeping with our "30 days of nothing."
we bought my old bike six years ago at toys r us, and it has served me well. i learned to navigate and love urban biking on it. ok, maybe not love, but i learned to be comfortable amidst traffic, and i loved killing two birds with one stone by exercising on my commute and making better time than i could in my car. after we moved here i took it trail riding and on camp's bike park, but i haven't been on it since before i was pregnant. the brakes on it were always dicey, and they never worked at all in the rain, which made for a few scary rides. otherwise, it worked well enough for my needs. well, it used to.
jim took it up to camp's bike shop to tune it up, and only four gears were working. i figured i could work with that, but then it turned out the brakes were shot and would need to be completely rebuilt. that kind of expense just wouldn't be worthwhile on an aged eighty-dollar toys r us bike.
so that is how we ended up at the sporting goods store. we looked a few years ago for a better bike for me, but all they had back then were a few junkies and bikes in the 300-400 dollar (and up!) range, but today they had models with decent parts and more modest price tags.
we have our hearts set on biking on vacation, so we decided buy a new one and make it happen. this summer we had already purchased a trailer and a kiddie helmet so dylan can join the fun. we are pretty excited about family biking in rhode island and back at home this fall, especially as the leaves change.
we bought my old bike six years ago at toys r us, and it has served me well. i learned to navigate and love urban biking on it. ok, maybe not love, but i learned to be comfortable amidst traffic, and i loved killing two birds with one stone by exercising on my commute and making better time than i could in my car. after we moved here i took it trail riding and on camp's bike park, but i haven't been on it since before i was pregnant. the brakes on it were always dicey, and they never worked at all in the rain, which made for a few scary rides. otherwise, it worked well enough for my needs. well, it used to.
jim took it up to camp's bike shop to tune it up, and only four gears were working. i figured i could work with that, but then it turned out the brakes were shot and would need to be completely rebuilt. that kind of expense just wouldn't be worthwhile on an aged eighty-dollar toys r us bike.
so that is how we ended up at the sporting goods store. we looked a few years ago for a better bike for me, but all they had back then were a few junkies and bikes in the 300-400 dollar (and up!) range, but today they had models with decent parts and more modest price tags.
we have our hearts set on biking on vacation, so we decided buy a new one and make it happen. this summer we had already purchased a trailer and a kiddie helmet so dylan can join the fun. we are pretty excited about family biking in rhode island and back at home this fall, especially as the leaves change.
jim, modeling for dylan that "it's cool to wear a helmet!" she appears unconvinced.
her bike trailer converts into a sturdy off-road stroller. i know, it's kind of ginormous, but it also will seat two kids. we can't wait to take it to the beach!
