bicycle

I’m thinking about buying a bicycle.

I’m not 100% sure if this is one of those things that I come up with periodically that I obsess about for a few weeks and then let go of; I’ll have to see where I feel once a few weeks have gone by. That said, I’ve almost always owned a bike. And, working from home, I now have more opportunity than ever to go for mid-afternoon and early-evening rides with no impact on my work schedule.

I was mentioning to Kara that if I hadn’t sold off the motorcycle, this is the time I might actually be riding it…she’s working late, I’ve got some free time, and going for a ride probably trumps happy hour in terms of practicality and overall health. I kind of feel like if I had a bike, I could run short errands while I get a workout; it actually makes me more efficient.

If I do go down this path, I’m thinking a dedicated hybrid makes the most sense–a low-end Specialized or Trek. I could put slicks on a mountain bike, but a hybrid would ultimately be faster with the 700c wheels, and I don’t think going all-out on a road bike is exactly what I need. Part of me says “Oh man, a hybrid? What’s next, a minivan?” But a street-ready runabout with a rack on the back and an upright, Boston-driver-aware riding position just makes sense; I’m riding on pavement, so I don’t need knobby tires, but I’m also not racing, so I don’t exactly need drop bars. I need a workhorse, beater bike that I can take to the grocery store or riding along the Esplanade by the Charles, and that’s about as far as it goes.

Ideally, I’d find somebody on Craigslist wanting to part with a late-2000’s Crosstrail or Trek Multitrack for >$200, which makes it a fairly safe investment…I could turn it around quickly if the bug didn’t stick.

I think I might also be able to convince MJP and Stephanie to buy bikes (I’d have to get Kara one as well, of course), which would give us another thing to do on the weekends other than just go out for food and drinks. And, I sincerely believe that running is the best exercise, but it also hurts. It is not that much fun. Riding is still exercise, but not quite as brutal.

Any thoughts from the cyclists in the audience?