The Bike of Doom

Contributed by Adrienne. Mesa, Arizona

Here is a picture of my beloved Beater Bike, now semi-retired and used for shopping in Mesa, Arizona. As you can see, the panniers are classier than the bike, which I think places it squarely in the piece-of-crap bike category. The grocery bag panniers, by the way, go into the store with me when I lock up the bike outside. The tool kit and my purse normally ride in the panniers too (and go inside with me); I am simply displaying them in the photo. And, yes, that money you see peeking out of the mesh pocket on the tool kit is bus fare, just in case.

The Beater Bike began life as a Huffy Prarie. We bought it at K-Mart some years ago when my now-grown daughter was in junior high school. When I twisted my knee in a karate class last year and needed a different form of exercise, she gave me her bike, since she is no longer using it. I replaced the original mountain bike tires, which were sadly cracked, with cruiser tires, thus removing the bike’s last vestige of “cool” but rendering it into a great commuter bike. Last April I began commuting via bike-on-bus to work (about 3 miles by bike and 13 by bus each way) and the Huffy performed splendidly. It still does, although a bit of finesse is called for from the rider. The front shifter now breaks repeatedly and the rear derailleur can best be described as “funky” — but if you know its quirks it works just fine.

I have since bought Dahon Curve folding bike to use for commuting because it can be brought inside the bus, parks under my desk, and, at least so far, mechanical problems are not an issue. But for trips around home where I don’t need most of those gears anyway — and for locking up in public places — the Beater Bike is perfect.

For better or worse, this bike thing grows on one. Before it got so beastly hot here I started riding purely for fun, and increasing mileage. Once the daytime temperatures dip below 100 F I have every intention of training some more. I have even been having fleeting thoughts of entering charity rides, which means that either the Beater Bike or the Folder is what it’s going to be among all that carbon and Spandex. Should be fun.

Adrienne.
Mesa, Arizona

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