New Bike
I got a new bike today; only, oddly, it wasn’t for me.
This one’s for Mimi. It’s her first “real” full-size rig, a Marin Muir Woods, 13-inch frame, with 26-inch wheels.
We rode the tandem to two shops, 2020 Cycle, and Velo Bikeshop, on our buying expedition. From the latter, where we purchased the Marin, I rode the tandem home solo and Mimi pedaled her new bike, cruising easily, even up the Jefferson Street hill.
Our deal was that she would pay a percentage of the cost and, allowance-hoarder that she is, that hardly made a dent in her burgeoning nest egg.
The experience reminded me of when I was thirteen and my dad took me to buy my first ten-speed, a blue Schwinn Varsity that, in the classic style, I had saved up my paper route money for. The place we got it wasn’t even a fulltime bicycle shop; as I recall, it was just a collection of bikes in the showroom of the car dealership my dad frequented. Still, I remember being just as excited as Mimi was today, and I’m pretty sure I rode the new bike home. I’m certain I didn’t wear a helmet, but I do have a recollection of my dad saying he was impressed when he caught up to me (I guess I left the store first) and saw me using hand signals when I was turning.
There’s certainly something magical about a brand new bicycle; when I was eight, my parents got me a Schwinn Typhoon; it was too big for me and so I spent the first couple weeks just pushing it around the neighborhood. Eventually, Bruce Harrison dared me to ride it and I did, even though I couldn't reach the pedals from the seat.
Mimi’s new bike fits her a lot better than that and I think it will for a while; next one, in any case, she’s springing for all by herself.
Right Dad?
Sure.
This one’s for Mimi. It’s her first “real” full-size rig, a Marin Muir Woods, 13-inch frame, with 26-inch wheels.
We rode the tandem to two shops, 2020 Cycle, and Velo Bikeshop, on our buying expedition. From the latter, where we purchased the Marin, I rode the tandem home solo and Mimi pedaled her new bike, cruising easily, even up the Jefferson Street hill.
Our deal was that she would pay a percentage of the cost and, allowance-hoarder that she is, that hardly made a dent in her burgeoning nest egg.
The experience reminded me of when I was thirteen and my dad took me to buy my first ten-speed, a blue Schwinn Varsity that, in the classic style, I had saved up my paper route money for. The place we got it wasn’t even a fulltime bicycle shop; as I recall, it was just a collection of bikes in the showroom of the car dealership my dad frequented. Still, I remember being just as excited as Mimi was today, and I’m pretty sure I rode the new bike home. I’m certain I didn’t wear a helmet, but I do have a recollection of my dad saying he was impressed when he caught up to me (I guess I left the store first) and saw me using hand signals when I was turning.
There’s certainly something magical about a brand new bicycle; when I was eight, my parents got me a Schwinn Typhoon; it was too big for me and so I spent the first couple weeks just pushing it around the neighborhood. Eventually, Bruce Harrison dared me to ride it and I did, even though I couldn't reach the pedals from the seat.
Mimi’s new bike fits her a lot better than that and I think it will for a while; next one, in any case, she’s springing for all by herself.
Right Dad?
Sure.
posted by Professor Dave at 7:04 PM
1 Comments:
What was the little silver & black bike you had, I guess when you were about 5 or 6? That's what I remember learning how to ride on, because my first big girl bike, bought between 2nd & 3rd grades, so when I was about 7, was too big for me, too, and I had to figure out how to get vertical when we took the training wheels off.
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