I had been eying the bicycles lined up in front of a local bike shop for some time. The hand me down "chari" I was riding had seen better days but it was still functional. The front tire was bent up, the front light worked from time to time, the brakes squealed when applied, the basket had rusted off and the frame had a sprinkling of rust on it. It wasn't glamorous or charming but it did the job.
Last Sunday I pumped up the tires a bit and headed off to the gym. Along the way I stopped at a light and then a loud "Bang!" sound went off. The front tire of my bike had exploded. The sound of it going off was like that of a pistol. I didn't have a patch kit or tools on me so I turned around and walked the bike home.
I carted the bike over to the bike shop to ask how much it would cost to replace the front tire and put in a new inner tube. That was going to cost me ¥5000. I hummed and hawed about it. I checked out the cost of a low end bicycle similar to what I had. The cheapest one was ¥19800 and one with a three speed shifter was ¥22800. I said "What the heck" and decided on getting a new bicycle.
The bottom line is that I can't afford not to own a bicycle (given that I don't own a car). My quality of life certainly takes a hit if I don't have the mobility a bicycle affords me. The train station, the gym, the movie cineplex, Book-Off, and a bunch of other stores I check out regularly are all at least a mile or more away from where I live. Some of the little morning or afternoon shopping excursions I've undertaken would be day long treks without a trusty two wheeled steed.
Enjoy your pop rocks, sir.
15 years ago
2 comments:
Now that "the paddler with no water" is pedaling instead of paddling, what are you naming this new "steed"? Every vessel has a name. Why not your land-kayak? Do tell.
So far nothing has struck me as being the right moniker for this bicycle. It's too new to have the multitude of quirks which landed my previous bicycle the name "The Zubeda-mobile". Time will tell in this case...
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