Cyling on the cheap

As I was out for an early morning run on Saturday, I happened by some people setting up for a garage sale. I noticed a purple bike amidst their things so I asked how much they wanted for it - when the young man answered fifteen, I had to stop. I rode the bike around the street a couple of times and it seemed good to me, so I asked them to hold onto it for me while I ran home and got some money to pay them. I walked back to pick it up and the people were nice enough to throw in a used helmet so I could ride the bike back home.

Once I got the bicycle home, I realized there was no way to fit it into my car and I knew I'd be wanting to take it places. Ohio has a lovely bike trail running alongside the Little Miami River, but that's on the other side of town from me. That lead me on a quest to get a trunk mounted bike rack; I found one at Play it Again Sports for twenty bucks. Then I needed some chain lube, that set me back another nine. Of course I needed a bike lock - in my neighborhood I can't see an unchained bike, even a used off-brand like mine, lasting long. And I needed a new helmet, since the freebie one was just not cool enough. So with all the extras, my fifteen dollar bike ended up costing me around seventy-five bucks. It's still a bargain really and I've had it out on the Lunken Airport loop a couple of times already and it's been great so far. All I've had to do was put some air in the tires and oil the chain and other moving parts.

My ultimate goal is to figure out a couple of put-in and take-out places along the Little Miami so I can take bike/kayak trips. I'd leave the kayak at the put-in, drive out to the take-out, leave the car and pedal back to the boat, then leave the bike locked up while I float down the river, then come back for the bike after the kayaking, once I've put the kayak back onto the car. Biathlon!