Tuesday, June 5, 2007

How I saved $2,600

The phone rang as I was riding back on the Freedom Park PATH, I fished it out and it was Susanne. It's prolly dangerous, but I like being able to balance the phone while I ride. I only do it when people call me.

At about the same time, I felt my rear wheel was making strange rock-on-pavement rumbling sounds. So with one hand, I slowed to a stop -- my tire was completely flat.

I spun the rear wheel around with my fingers and saw there was a long staple embedded in it, my first flat tire since I've had the Trek 7700FX hybrid, about three or four years.

Aaagh. The weather was nice, so I just walked it home, about a mile or so. No big deal. I got home, picked up a kitty blanket and then went out back to put the bike in my car. Had to remove both wheels to get the bike to fit.

Dropped the bike off at the bike shop and then lingered for a while to admire the really cool looking bikes.

I'd been wanting a road bike for a while, a faster rocket, so I asked about it. I was thinking of a nice Trek, a carbon fiber model.

But after I told the guy what I used bikes for, he helped change my mind.

"I could sell you a new bike, but I also like to sleep at night," he said, explaining that for what I use the bike for, my hybrid was pretty much perfect. If I had bought a cheaper bike 3-4 years ago, I'd prolly be in about now to buy a new bike.

If I took 30 mile bike rides, then maybe I should get a road bike.

But I didn't, I admitted.

So I walked out of there, without a new bike, and saved about $2,600 in the process.

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