Introducing Five Dollar Bike

A few weeks ago, I was rounding the back of the trailer and noticed Six Dollar Bike had been hit. The handle bar was bent but I was able to straighten it slightly. Enough for short trips, at least. Even so, from then on, it tended to swerve to the left. It wasn't until I risked a 4 mile ride that I really admitted how bad Six Dollar Bike was. It was cranky about shifting, had leaky tires that were a weird size I couldn't replace, was slightly short for me, and had a seat angled perfectly to be a pain on my bottom (I broke my tailbone years ago, and the end healed at a 90 degree angle, so my bottom is picky about seats). 

When S and I arrived on Sanibel, the wonderful attendant informed us we would be happier if we had bikes and she gave us the inside scoop on a secret Thrift Shop that was very cheap and only open 6 hours a week. I had Six Dollar Bike, so we went to find S a bike. When there were two bikes on the porch, $5 each, a his and hers, it seemed like Fate. The lady bike was rusty brown with a wider front basket (perfect for snorkel gear and beach towels) and the tires looked newer and fuller than my bike. It was taller and the seat was much more comfortable. I could ride it right away, the gears were not tight and cranky. True, they sometimes shift on their own, making Five Dollar Bike an automatic. We bought both and spent an extra dollar fifty on the bike rack nearby. $11.50 for two bikes and the rack to attach them to the car!

Next we went to the bike shop to inflate the air in the tires. They wanted $70 each to do a "tune up". We declined. S's bike's tires weren't in as good a condition and before we knew it, we were being charged $150 for new tubes, tires, and labor. But we rode the bikes all over the island, and my Five Dollar Bike made me feel I could ride forever. I want to ride everywhere on it, it's so comfortable. 

Back at camp, a maintenance guy offered to take Six Dollar Bike to the mail room and mark her as Free. When we left camp later, she was gone. May she serve her new owner well!