Day 252: The cost of biking

So, I love riding my bike. I don't even think about the environmental stuff or the saving-money stuff when I'm pedalling around, I just like the feel of the wind in my hair and how quickly it gets you places.

- chuvadealgodaodoce.tumblr.com

Bikes = happiness

My current workplace is about a 45 minute bike ride, which sounds scary but isn't at all. I listen to podcasts while I'm going (or to my workout music, if I'm running late and need to hurry) and the time passes like nothing. It's also great that I can mostly take bike trails all the way there, so I don't have to worry about traffic and crazy cars who seem not to notice my GIGANTIC WHITE BIKE.

Anyway, I recently had to make an investment in biking. I mean, one of the great advantages of biking/walking everywhere is that I don't have to pay for insurance, or gas, or parking, or maintenance like you would with a car. I mean, every now and then I need to get a new tire or some other small fix, but these sorts of things cost like $20 and I believe car stuff costs slightly more than that (having never owned a car).

But anyway. I mentioned the nice bike paths I get to take to work, which are so nice in the daytime but, as it turns out, REALLY REALLY DARK at nighttime, now that the days have started getting shorter. I had a tiny little front bike light, but this is more useful for allowing cars to see me, rather than actually illuminating the path in front of me.

- weheartit.com

OK, this lighting is adorbs, but still won't light the path ahead of me.

But is a fun idea for Christmastime!

This had led to a few terrifying nighttime dark-bike-path adventures where I'm squinting through the darkness, wondering Is that a person up ahead of me? Oh, wait, no that's tree. Oh, wait no, it's a person. Or a shadow of a tree? And my cute little bike light lights up about a half a foot in front of me, which isn't enough to let me know about impending potholes or turns in the road or anything.

So, fine. I went to the bike store to get a new, stronger bikelight. And it cost $90. $90!! There was really no choice, though. This was the cheapest light for what I needed (there was one three times as strong that cost $500, for comparison). BUT this light is actually really great as it charges up like a cell phone or an iPod (through a USB cable, or directly through a wall plug), lights up with nearly the strength of a car headlight, and also the salesman was really, really cute. Not that that had anything to do with my purchase.

"Would you like to buy a --"
"YES! Anything! I don't care what you're selling! The answer is YES!"

Oh, but y'all will be proud of my frugal moment when he was ringing it in. I was like, "Do you have a discount for the local community radio station?" because sometimes smaller businesses do, and he was like, "No, we don't. But I think we should! So I'll give you a discount anyway!" and I got 10% off. It always pays to ask!