It was sort of about fitness, and sort of about the price of gas.
I wanted to be able to get out in the cool evening air and let the breeze blow away some of the routines of my day...and maybe sneak down to hamburger row to snag a little junk food once in a while without piling into the car and wasting gas. This is how my mind works:
Let's see, cost of McDonald's double cheeseburger -- $1. Cost of gas to get there and back -- $.20. Cost of getting out of shape from eating burger and then sitting in car -- my life. Cost of weekly specials at the fantastic market across from McDonald's -- corn, 5 ears/$1, grey squash $.50...piling in the car and getting there? Unlikely...too much bother for one item, too close to McDonald's, waste of $.20 in gas. That certainly ups the overall price of the leaders.
So I had been avoiding that cute little neighborhood market. No more.
The bike had to be a folder. That way we could take it along on vacations, and haul it back and forth between our summer and winter places. I couldn't afford this one:
I didn't want a bike that screamed "Steal Me!" either. I looked hard and long at the Dahon boardwalk, as well as Citizen, and some of the other online specials. I decided it had to come from a local bike shop, so that I could get competent help from someone who knows bikes better than me. So I rode the Dahon and then I rode this little sleeper from Sun in Taiwan, called the Cayne Rambler. It was a hard choice because the Dahon handled well and was a bit lower, which appealed to me. But the Rambler coasted along faster with a whole lot less effort.
It has gotten some compliments, so I can't really say it is not pretty, but it has a utilitarian look that I like, and although an alloy, the frame is sturdy. But for now you will all have to excuse me, for there is a hamburger with my name on it.
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