My new commuter friend

Ever since I went biking a month ago, I've been debating whether to get one for work. My commute is pretty short, about 1.3 miles. I can either walk to work, which takes me about 20-25 minutes, or take the subway down, which is a bit inefficient because it follows a U shape and I have to go down to come back up the other side and takes me about 20 minutes. So the advantages of a bike would be the shorter commuting time, exercise included and subway money saved. Toronto is a very bike friendly city, more than I have ever seen in a downtown city. You see so many people with bikes here - and with all kinds of bikes to: old, new, cruisers, road bikes, hybrids, electrics. I found myself aw-ing at bikes with baskets and racks in the back and thinking "I want one!"

I sought advice from C&J, who are big into bikes. I think I remember them telling me they once had 7 in their apartment. I debated for a while getting a new bike at a chain store (though apparently a no-no to avid bikers), and visited a few local bike shops - man, who knew bikes could run in the 4-digit prices. I was close to buying a new bike, but went back to being convinced that a used bike would be better. So I tried craigslist. The market for classic/vintage/old-style bikes around here is huge! Who knew bikes from the 1960-70's could sell for so much. While there was a lot to choose from, my first experience with it was not fun. It's hard to email back and forth to meet w/ people and you quickly realize not to get your hopes up.

After my first craigslist disappointment, I almost went back to considering a new bike (from a chain store, gasp!!!). However, last Friday I decided to give it one more try and I found myself refreshing the craigslist ad every 30 minutes or so. I was planning to go to an "open house" bike sale, which I thought would be easier since I didn't have to coordinate a meeting w/ a random stranger. Then, I refreshed the page and found a post for a bike that looked OK for a decent price. I emailed the seller and quickly found it she lived only 5 blocks from work (and about 5 blocks from Tim's work too!). Since it was so convenient, I asked her if we could meet at 4:30pm. I started to get frustrated at craigslist again when I didn't hear back from her by 5:00pm... Finally heard back from her and met her to check out the bike. It's a bit banged up and rusty here and there, but good and cute. We learned she was moving to NY for journalism grad school in a week. She was anxious to sell it and probably could have brought down the price, but we support poor grad students :) It also gave us a happy boost to know we are helping someone who's probably really busy with moving (we've been there) instead of buying from someone who's out to get a profit.

So, here's a picture of my new (used) Nishiki bicycle! I've called her Wichiqui. A bit squeaky, but it rides great!

I got a new lock and took it to the shop to get the tires serviced. Been hunting for a good/cute basket so I can use it for my secondary purpose of grocery shoping, but that'll have to wait 'till after our trip to Panama. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I'll get a good 2-3 months out of it before it has to hibernate for the winter. I'm kind of bummed I have to pay extra for a bike locker spot in our condo, though.