 Today's Picture: Ellen Raine of Frankfort hikes, bikes and kayaks. She's very proud of the fact that both of her bicycles are vintage, steel-frame models that cost her practically nothing.
Ellen has been encouraging me to write about how it doesn't necessarily cost a fortune to get into bicycling. She's right when she reminds me:
"So many people think you must have the new, $8k, gazillion-gear bike, a whoop-dee-doo wardrobe, etc. Actually, you DON'T! I've ridden both my bikes – a Schwinn Varsity that cost $10 at Goodwill, and a Murray I found free behind my first property – miles and miles on the Little Miami and Riverwalk and around town in perfect comfort. I think the big expense associated with cycling is a misconception that keeps a lot of folks away from it." I couldn't agree more. My bright yellow 1971 Schwinn Varsity got me where I needed to go all through college and served me well on 100-mile weekend rides with the Louisville Bicycle Club, until I decided to try something a little lighter and faster. This year I finally sold my Varsity to Parkside Bicycle Boutique, a used bike shop that opened just a few months ago. "Old Yeller" will take on a whole new life when some young hipster strips it down and turns it into a single-speed or "fixie." That bike is immortalized in Joe Ward's book "Wheeling Around Louisville." On page 75 he described it at "bulletproof."
No telling how many excellent bikes with low miles have been hanging in garages for decades, just waiting to be discovered and personalized with new tires, colorful bar tape, a set of new neon wheel rims, bull horn handlebars and all the other accessories one can find online or at shops like Parkside.
But if you're willing to pay a bit more, new bicycles from the top-selling brands are a better value today than ever before. For several hundred dollars – roughly one car payment – you can buy reliable two-wheel transportation that can last beyond your life expectancy. And local bike shops will do a great job of keeping that bike like new for many years to come, at very reasonable rates.
Whatever you do, don't waste your money on a discount department store bike. Check out bikelouisville.org for a list of bicycle shops, where you can get a bike that not only fits your physical dimensions and the kind of cycling you plan to do, but also fits into your budget.
Whether you buy the yard-sale special or fall in love with the latest and greatest brand new all-carbon fiber bike, take a moment to consider that you're purchasing something that's a lot of fun, and much more than a hobby. If you use the bike you buy, you may reduce your heart risk by 50 percent just by riding it as little as 20 minutes a day. Reducing the probability of diabetes, heart disease or stroke can make just about any bike you buy seem like a really fabulous deal.
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PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
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Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround.blogspot.com
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bikecommuter