Ride hard
I like walking, I'm constantly annoyed by bikers (when they aren't Swedish girls) interpreting traffic laws in any way that benefits them, and I don't need the hassle of locking/unlocking a bike repeatedly but maybe still getting my front wheel or seat* stolen because some people out there are jerks.
Or at least that's what I thought until I rode my friend Sebastian's bike around Frankfurt a few weeks ago. Since that day I've been in the market for a bike -- not a fast one or a shiny one or a geary one -- and yesterday I bought one**.
I'm not riding to get in shape or to get somewhere in particular. I probably won't ride to work because I don't want to ride in traffic and come to a tragic end (my complete lack of understanding of UK traffic law makes this highly likely).
I'll be biking only because city riding makes me a more efficient people watcher and lets me stumble on things that I would never have walked past. I'll also only be riding when it's sunny and nice like it was yesterday (bike shopping yesterday was like grocery shopping on an empty stomach), which is to say, 5-10x per year.
*They call seats "saddles" here.
**Even the WORST SALES PITCH IN THE HISTORY OF SALES couldn't put me off. Said pitch consisted of the following soundbites:
"80% of the people who I sell bikes to have their bikes stolen."
"I don't even want to sell that bike. If I sell all my bikes I have to go and get more bikes."
"This is the second time that bike has been in my shop. The first person who bought it brought it back and got another one."
4 comments:
We also call them saddles in the states.
oh
Is it possible that you repeated the sales pitch the way it actually happened? Because I want to believe it's true. So funny. If it didn't happen, I guess I give you props for comic effect. I laughed out loud and read it to Brian.
it did happen, almost verbatim to what i wrote.
the third line (the second time that bike has been in my shop) i overheard -- the same guy who talked to me told it to a dutch girl who had just bought the bike in question. he did say that the guy brought it back and bought a more expensive bike, but only after she asked him why he returned it.
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