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taking the bikes for a spin

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Today I took the kids outside so that they could take their bikes for spin up and down the street. It's one of the many things gnawing at me: how we're going to dispose of all these things! And the losses: we're ditching some new bikes among the various flotsam and jetsam.

I am happy to report on a couple of things:

1. The 26" bike fits The Boy to a tee.

2. This outing today was The Girl's idea.

3. The Girl rode quite well today, very naturally and with confidence.

Come to think of it, we're not giving up that much with these bikes. The Boy's riding a bike more than twice his age for which the original owner has already spoken. Yes, we sunk a bunch of money into keeping it riding, but several of us have put a lot of kilometers on that thing over the past nine years. My 700c Surly has at least 5,000 kilometers on it, possibly quite a bit more. It's showing its age with rust and as it stands needs about $200-$250 in parts and service. Mari's Tokyobike has proven completely unsuitable: its narrow wheels and tires aren't strong enough for our comically rough roads. The other bike she's riding was a free hand-me-down from my boss. That leaves The Girl's current bike, which is brand new, and The Boy's previous bike which is still in good shape and was likely underutilized. So, not a disaster.