MINEMINEMINE

I have done it! I bought myself a bike!

Thanks to Claudia I learned about Electra's Townie bikes.

Here is mine.

Neat, huh? I love it!

I've wanted to ride my bike for ages, I've been waiting for my weight loss to let me ride, but that was taking too long...and my knees don't bend enough, and my balance is rotten, so if the seat was high enough on my bike for me to be able to pedal, I couldn't touch the ground well, and I felt too unstable.

These bikes have their pedals way forward, so that you can still touch the ground, almost flatfooted and still almost straighten your knee when pedaling! I chose a three speed, because you can adjust the gears while stopped. In a 7 speed I keep getting stuck gears too high to easily start up, so this is a safety issue for me right now. It has a coaster brake (I feel like a kid!) and a front hand brake. Only difference from Claudia's bike are that mine doesn't have fenders and flower stickers (but the stickers are available online). The bike shop didn't have the white Electra rack, so that is on order. It'll be pretty.

You can see how low the cross bar is. I can get on and off quite easily, despite my knees' stiffness. The best thing, of course, is I CAN RIDE! I picked it up today, in dreary rain....drizzle, then deluge, then a ray of sun, with more deluge. It almost stopped raining just before the sun went down, so I was able to go for a quick ride. I went for a mile, up and down several hills, and it WORKED! I CAN RIDE! I know, I said that already, but I CAN RIDE!!!!!!

Next week I, too, will have some BAT/KATs for Claudia!