Thursday, August 8, 2013

Day 1: The Bicycle Purchase


Duluth's Lakewalk

Hi.  I'm Andy. I live in Duluth, Minnesota. I am a middle aged, out of shape guy that works for an organization that plans a lot of bike trails, does bike safety training, and promotes active lifestyles as a way to be healthier.  It's about time I get a bike.  Luckily my colleague Ellen is just down the hall and willing to help me out.  She is a bike expert.  Road bikes, mountain bikes, commuters, she knows it all.  She's a League of American Cyclists instructor.  So she gave me some tips, pointed me towards one of Duluth's several fine bike shops, and turned me loose.  On a fine June (2013) afternoon I bought my bike.  It's a fine machine of the "commuter" type.  Not a fatter tired mountain bike, not a skinny tired road bike - it's in-between.  It cost about $550.  Maybe a bit more cost than a beginner needs, but I am hefty guy and I wanted it to be solid.  It has disc brakes (vs. rim).  I bought a spare tire for it and it came with either a free kick stand or water bottle holder.  I chose the water bottle holder, thinking that the kickstand may be unwieldy when wearing long work pants or when the bike is on the rack with my wife and kid's bikes.  I put the bike in the back of my truck and headed home...the adventure begins!

Check out Healthy Northland and the Active Arrowhead Map!


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