Day before yesterday I started out on my bike ride. I haven’t been walking as much so the ride is important. I got out of the driveway and knew something was wrong. My rear tire was flat. I walked it back. I told Ed. He went out to look at it. He said “The tire is shredded, totally bald, etc.” How could I have missed that? (Don’t buy me a car.) We discussed next steps. He said I should have a new bike. I have forgotten my bike in the rain. It has rust areas, it needs a total overhaul.

Ed said I should have a Raleigh, but instead, we took my bike to the bike shop. Brian, the mechanic who owns the shop, said it would cost $190 or so to give it a new tire, a new seat, re-condition it, etc. A consignment bike in the shop was $125. No speeds, but that doesn’t matter. We fussed with it because, like my current bike, the frame was bigger than I should have. But I can manage. He changed the seat and inverted the mechanism so it would sit as low as possible, and I got a new basket, much nicer than my old one. And Ed said, we already have a basket. And I said it’s rusty and bent and does not sit well because of the warping. And he said, it’s because you leave your bike out in the rain (mutter, snarl). Well, it’s also because I’ve had a couple of accidents.

So we came home with this brilliant YELLOW bike. Ed is bonding to it. He did want me to have a Schwinn with 10 speeds that was also for sale on consignment for $175 and he said, what a deal (Ed LOVES deals). And was I sure it wouldn’t do and I said to ride this bike I’d have to be 6 feet tall, trust me on this one. Also all the wires for the speeds meant no basket, but there was a cloth one attached to the rear. I do need a basket because I am always collecting things in my travels. And when I have no pockets (I’ll have to stop buying cheap shorts) I use the basket for my phone and other stuff.

I think another reason why Ed wanted me to have a new bike is because Tula and Don gave me the last one in 2004 for my birthday (before the major alienation between Ed and Don) and Ed has always hated that the bike came from them. I am also astonished that a bike can get old in just 8 years of daily riding and rain.

What I am relieved about is that I have a bike and do not have to wait for repairs – it would have taken some days – and it looks cool, a nice plus. Ed said I would not be able to use it after Monday for “quite a while”. He doesn’t understand us fitness types. Island Girl and I were out walking a few years ago and got caught in a major storm. Ed drove out to get us and we said, basically, “How sweet. Go home. We’re walking.”

Like I said, fitness types, glug, squish.

xx, Teal