Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Bright, Shiny, New Bike

Well it WAS, back in 1988. When I got a new, light 10 speed bike to replace Mum's truly ancient one that I'd been riding.

It was shiny and blue and 10 speed and had a bag carrier on the back, and was exactly what I dreamed of.

I got it back from the bike shop today with two new tyres and tubes, new hand grips, a new back brake cable (sort of necessary, given the old one had snapped) and all greased and working well. Including a guarantee that the chain will not come off when I change between 5 & 6 gears as it used to when I was on my way to school.

It may not be as shiny. The chrome bits might have a tad of surface rust, and the seat might have a few tiny tears in the upholstery (and be much less comfortable than I remember), but hey, I can now proceed to get fit.

So I walked down to town, picked it up and rode it home.

And I did not die.

And the chance I expected to survive the trip home?

Indeed.

5 comments:

Loony Lace Lady said...

Glad you got the bike back all nice and useable. Good to hear you rode home and didn't die, that is a blessing. Good work getting fit. Onwards and downwards.

Givinya De Elba said...

Well done! May you have many wonderful hours of fun on your bike!

Allegro ma non troppo said...

Do you have an extra-wide padded seat? I have an extra-wide padded seat. Not that either of us has enormous rears, it's just SO MUCH MORE comfortable. I really love and recommend an extra-wide padded seat. For comfort. Not for largeness. I'm only talking about how much nicer it feels to have an extra-wide padded seat.

I'm not sure this comment is working out. Fiddle dee dee, posting it anyway...

Emily Sue said...

Women NEED the extra wide padded seats. Not because of the size of our rear ends, but because there are bones in that general area and most bike seats are, conveniently, at the exact width to sit between those bones and cause PAIN. That's all I'm saying...

Hippomanic Jen said...

Yeah, probably sticking with my current seat for now, but may consider it for later if I keep up the bike riding for a decent interval. At the moment after three trips, each trip has cost me $30. So I will wait for a bit.