You can only get more experience if you buy a bike. Once a week riding is not enough now you’ve passed Level 1 the instructors reminded me. Spurred and encouraged by this I asked if I could buy the bike I’d been learning and riding on. I felt confident with that particular bike and it looked alright. Its a Turismo.
I rationalised that I knew it, I don’t need a fancy bike and I don’t want to spend a lot of money. They said they would sell it to me for £180. But insisted we go to bike shops and look around.
So after the lesson, they took two of us to the local bike shop, rather a small shop, can’t remember the name, to look at a Saracen Venturer 1 Ladies 2008. They sold it for £250 but later on I found out that on the internet its selling for £179.
Then I found this whole new cycling world and stumbled upon Why Cycle website which I found so informative and interesting. It lists the reasons to cycle as being
Good for you…
- Regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equal to that of a person ten years younger. (Source: National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Foundation, Sharp) …
Good For Your Wallet…
- Bicycles require no road tax, no MOT, no insurance, no licensing, no breakdown recovery services, and above all no fuel bills…
Good For Your World…
- Twenty bicycles can be parked in the same space taken up by one car.
- To make a bicycle requires only a fraction of the materials and energy needed to make a car.
- Bicycles produce absolutely no pollution – they are a lot quieter too. When was the last time you saw a rusting, burnt-out bicycle?
- Cars kill and maim thousands of people every year – bicycles don’t.
So right!
Then I went through the WhyCycle menu that focused on styles of bikes. It seems as though the type of bike I buy depends upon the type of cycling. Interesting…. it seems I need a Hybrid or Trekking bike. Now I know what I looking for when I go in a shop but can I get a Hybrid bike in my car? How would I transport it around until I’m more confident on the road? I would have to wait till next lesson to ask the instructors.
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