Gas Sucks, Ride Your Bike!

For as long as I have been riding my bike, I've never been a bike commuter. In part, because I've only ever had bikes like my racing steeds that really can't be locked up on a side street in Philly for very long without losing 95% of their easily removable parts! That is...until TODAY!!!

I started looking around for cheap, old Schwinn-type bikes. I found a few on Craig's List, contacted the sellers, but got cricket chirping for a response. I looked up a few estate sales and went to a few "junk shops," but didn't find anything.

There was a glimmer of hope as we passed a shop that had a bunch of old bikes in the window. Sign on the door said, "Coming Soon - Used bikes, electronics, etc."

So, I asked Chuck if we could stop at this little bike shop down the street from our friend Sherm's house. It is an old Schwinn shop called Ricco's. We walk inside and I stumble across the bike I had literally seen in my dreams the night before! Well, almost exactly the bike I saw!

I pulled it out and took a look - turns out the bike belonged to a woman who had dropped it off for some alterations several years ago and never came back to pick it up. She wanted the road bike drop bars replaced with a flat bar. On this old steel frame, this was a pretty big changeover. Though the parts used are obviously old and used, the bike has all new cables and housings and is in really nice running condition. The shop had spent about $100 fixing it up and I got it for a little under that.

All it needs are some fenders and a rear rack (maybe a basket on the front) and she is ready to FLY!!! I am REALLY looking forward to letting the car sit in the driveway and riding her to get groceries and get to work.

Taking a line from one of our favorite movies, The Emperor's New Groove...she is my birthday present to me! I'm so happy! I shall call her "Topia," as in Utopia, for I will be in heaven not driving a car all over! :)

And...here she is...

Note: Made in Allentown, PA!!!! Oh, yeah!