I bought a bicycle last night! It's a
Huffy Cranbrook, and absolutely amazing! I fell in love with this bike when it first arrived at work last fall. Since the area I stock is right across from the bike rack, I got to see it quite often. I love it for its classic, sleek curves, the way it looks like a bike from the 1950's. Other things I love about it:
- Pedal-brakes (aka Coaster Brakes), not handlebar-brakes
- Single speed
- Lots of chrome
- Cushy wide seat
- Wide, swept-back handlebars so I can ride upright
I think the brakes are my favorite feature, other than just how it looks. I rode Cowboy's bike and my mother-in-law's bike a couple times, both of which have those newfangled handlebar brakes, and once I nearly got hit by an SUV because I forgot how the handlebar brakes worked and tried to stop by jamming the pedals back. Naturally, that didn't work, and I had to swerve really quickly to avoid the SUV, and subsequently nearly ran into a parked car. Which is why I won't ride in the street like the crazed Cowboy anymore, I will only ride on the sidewalks.
So anyway, with gas prices being nuts like they are now, I decided it was high time I get a bike for my in-town errands, like running to the library a couple times a week. And so I got my bike. But wanna know the really cool thing? It was on clearance! We only had 3 left in the store, and instead of paying $79 for it, I got it for $50!!!
Ahhhh, if there's anything sweeter than getting something you've wanted for months, it's getting it
on sale!
But now I need to name it. It's about the color of a Carolina sky in the winter, so I was thinking of something like "December Sky"...but with all the silver reflective tape I'm putting on the spokes and stuff, it looks kinda spooky, so I also thought of something along the lines of "Carolina Phantom". Hmm.
They still make bikes with pedal brakes??? YAY!!!! I want a bike now! I hate handle bar brakes! I almost nearly wiped out the first time I rode one and automatically backpedaled to brake and my feet just spun uselessly. Congrats on your new local transport! Can't wait to see what you name it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, dkoren, the whole reason I haven't had a bike all these years (since I was like 14) is because I couldn't find any with pedal brakes. And when I did...how could I resist? Especially when it's so gorgeous. You can still get them online at walmart.com if you want to pick one up...
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to think of ship names. Traditionally I've named my bikes like horses. And thought of them as horses. But when I went out for my first ride this morning, the words "maiden voyage" slipped into my mind, and I realized maybe this bike is a ship, not a horse. So I started thinking about names of ships, like maybe naming her after one of Jack Aubrey's or Horatio Hornblower's ships. Hmm.
And Noumenon, "Baby Cranbrook" would be a perfect name...if it was your bike! ;-)
As for single-speedness, remember, this is more about the joy of riding than about getting somewhere fast.
climbing hills with no lower gears is work
ReplyDeleteWhat hills? There's like one tiny incline between our Crypt and the library. Admittedly, I walked up it on the way home from the library today, but it's still barely what I would consider a hill...
Maybe, because I didn't learn to ride with gears, I'm just used to being without them, and therefore don't miss them. Sometimes you have to pedal hard, sometimes not so hard, and sometimes you can coast!
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