She’s Young and With It

Duck.

I have wanted a new bicycle for a while. I have a rusty old single speed cruiser that I bought for $25. I can barely ride it because our neighborhood is so hilly and the bike is so rickety. I started seriously looking at bicycles about a week ago. I have coveted an Electra Townie for a long time, but I did not like the Townie price tag. I looked at a lot of bikes, but I kept coming back to the Electras. I like the style of many of the Electras, but I had to consider gears due to our hilly neighborhood, where I will primarily ride the bicycle. I kept asking bike shop people how many gears I needed and I kept getting different answers, but they ranged between 7 speeds and 21 speeds.

The day came (Sunday) when I decided it was time to commit to the Townie. We went to the bicycle shop and the guy we talked to recommended the 21 speed. Unfortunately, the 21 speed did not come in the bright orange color that I wanted, nor do the 21 speeds include a cute chainguard. Drat. I bought a blue bike, which feels a bit unoriginal, but I plan to add white fenders and a basket and a bell and maybe a rack to spice it up a bit. Electra, of course, sells all the accessories you could ever need.

This was my early birthday present and I could not be happier. I can get up the hills now, although technically I can probably walk up them faster than I ride up them. I have a long way to go before riding multiple hills and going long distances, but I’m ready to practice!

He’s almost 40, you know.