I'm bad-ass too!

Editors Note 7/25/08: Since this time the bike that I talk about has been stolen and I currently own 3 bikes. 2 Klein bikes, each purchased used by me for $1000 a piece and one fixer upper Cannondale.I commute to work everyday and have attempted numerous long rides including 2 hundred mile rides. It's safe to say, I'm bike crazy.

I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

I just went on an afternoon bike ride with a co-worker and I feel so great.

About a month ago I bought my bike and I've been riding it to and from work everyday since. It's about a 3 mile ride each way, so a pretty easy and short ride. It only takes 15-20 minutes each way, compared to a 40 minute bus ride. Also, it's hundreds of dollars cheaper than a car and is only about 5 minutes longer a ride than driving a car.

Kayla (my sister) was my motivation for riding. She is the most bad-ass person that we all know and we tell her so too. She rides this little cheap children’s BMX bike that's probably 10 years old. It's falling apart, the handlebar brakes don't work, she pops tires left and right because she rides on the sidewalk (even though she isn't supposed to), it's rusted out, and it weighs a ton. Kayla has also been hit by numerous cars and has brought this damn thing across the country and back. The bike probably cost her less than $50. We tell her everyday that she should get something new but she has the Costello stubborn gene in her, so she needs to be right and refuses to admit defeat even though it's clear to everyone that her bike is complete garbage.

So after months of talking about getting a bike I finally did. It's a $600 bike from REI that cost me $400 because it was a 2006 model. I opted to buy a new bike instead of a used one for two reasons:

1. REI has a 100% guarantee on everything they sell to members of their co-op, of which I am a part of. This means in 2 years I can tell them I don't like the bike anymore and get my $400 back towards a new one. This works, they don't even ask questions, and you can do it anytime. My friend Lauriel returned boots 4 years after she bought them originally and they gave her a full refund.

2. I really wanted something I could rely on for a long time. I'm going back to school in the fall and so my funds are going to be tight again, so I want something I can depend on.

I've loved the freedom of having my own form of transportation again. I haven't had this freedom since I last owned a car, about a year and a half ago. I have to say I missed it.