How I Got a “Free-Trial” Bicycle

I’ve been reading a lot about the biking culture lately, and I’ve wanted a bike for quite some time. Now seems like the right time because 1) I’m trying to simplify my life and reduce my carbon footprint, 2) I need to get in shape in some organic way (integrated into my daily routine, not using money), 3) Bloomington is a great place for bicycling, and I should take advantage of that.

It’s been so long since I’ve used a bike- the last one I had, my dad bought for me when I was in school. I don’t know anything about bikes, really, so I’d see them for sale all nice and shiny in a row, and I had no idea what style would be best or what a good price or brand was.

The other reason for putting off purchasing a bike is that we’ll be moving soon, and I don’t know if we can fit a bike into the van with all of our other things. Knowing about how there’s never a perfect time for anything, I went out and searched for inspiration.

I found that inspiration in this article by Everett Bogue of farbeyondthestars.com. He explains how to “rent” a bike in any city for free. For starters, it seems that a good, usable bicycle will cost around $150 on Craigslist. $150 is not a huge investment, and it would give me the opportunity to try out a certain type of bike without too much commitment. Because, you see, when I leave town, I can either take the bike with me or sell it on Craigslist for $150. Perfect! Free bike!

I found a really cute Schwinn Cruiser for $90, which we actually got for $70 since it needed a little tune up. Not wanting to invest a lot of time learning how to tune up a bike (which I’m sure I will do eventually), I dropped it off at the local bike shop for $50 worth of service. That still puts my total investment at only $120.

The only down side is that I have to wait several days to get the bike back from the shop. But I think that’s better than waiting three months or more to get settled in our new place and then try to get used to riding again.

Besides, it’ll come home just in time for my next 30 Day Fitness Experiment!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Break Away From Your Sedentary Routine (30dayfitnessexperiment.com)
• Mayor McBicycle (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Bicycling Magazine’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities in the U.S. (treehugger.com)

How I Got a "Free-Trial" Bicycle

I’ve been reading a lot about the biking culture lately, and I’ve wanted a bike for quite some time. Now seems like the right time because 1) I’m trying to simplify my life and reduce my carbon footprint, 2) I need to get in shape in some organic way (integrated into my daily routine, not using money), 3) Bloomington is a great place for bicycling, and I should take advantage of that.

It’s been so long since I’ve used a bike- the last one I had, my dad bought for me when I was in school. I don’t know anything about bikes, really, so I’d see them for sale all nice and shiny in a row, and I had no idea what style would be best or what a good price or brand was.

The other reason for putting off purchasing a bike is that we’ll be moving soon, and I don’t know if we can fit a bike into the van with all of our other things. Knowing about how there’s never a perfect time for anything, I went out and searched for inspiration.

I found that inspiration in this article by Everett Bogue of farbeyondthestars.com. He explains how to “rent” a bike in any city for free. For starters, it seems that a good, usable bicycle will cost around $150 on Craigslist. $150 is not a huge investment, and it would give me the opportunity to try out a certain type of bike without too much commitment. Because, you see, when I leave town, I can either take the bike with me or sell it on Craigslist for $150. Perfect! Free bike!

I found a really cute Schwinn Cruiser for $90, which we actually got for $70 since it needed a little tune up. Not wanting to invest a lot of time learning how to tune up a bike (which I’m sure I will do eventually), I dropped it off at the local bike shop for $50 worth of service. That still puts my total investment at only $120.

The only down side is that I have to wait several days to get the bike back from the shop. But I think that’s better than waiting three months or more to get settled in our new place and then try to get used to riding again.

Besides, it’ll come home just in time for my next 30 Day Fitness Experiment!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Break Away From Your Sedentary Routine (30dayfitnessexperiment.com)
• Mayor McBicycle (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Bicycling Magazine’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities in the U.S. (treehugger.com)