Great news: I’ve got a bicycle! My past few months navigating life without a bicycle have been helpful in my job, as “boots on the ground” research is part of my job. But it’s nice having wheels again. Now if we could only have a bike shop within walking distance again, as there used to be when I first moved to this neighborhood. Maybe I can encourage somebody to step up and run a business — or at least an unofficial neighborhood bicycle-repair depot. I’ve been trying for a while!
Deeply grateful to my neighbor who found a beach cruiser in great condition listed for $30 on craigslist! And who gave me a ride since the place was 9 miles away. It was hard for me to accept that help but as I pointed out in my previous post, we all need to be willing to accept help as well as being willing to give it.
And the guy who sold me the bike seems like a really nice, stand-up fellow. Told us he has been refurbishing & selling used bicycles for a long time. When I asked why he was selling a good bike so cheap, he told me that the demand for E bikes has caused the regular bicycle market to crater. I never have liked E bikes and I’m very happy to have this simple sweet one-speed bicycle.
I will also be looking into getting our single-speed fixie skinny-tire bicycle repaired (which is likely to be pretty extensive work), but at least now it’s not an urgent task.