Hi all. I just thought I would share my experiences this weekend. My in-laws came to visit (they
live about six hours away) and I took my father-in-law for a short ride. I rode my trailer-hauler
(with kid in tow) and he rode my rain bike (ten year old mtb with slicks and fenders). I could
hardly believe it, but he fell in love with my beater bike. But when he told me about his bike, I
understood. He's been riding an old Huffy mtb he rescued from somewhere. The rear derailler finally
gave up on him and has been stuck in the same gear for several months. He's a diesel mechanic by
trade, but bikes mystify him.
Whenever he comes, we always end up running around to look at stuff. Sometimes it's cars, sometimes
it's hunting gear, but this time it was bikes. I couldn't even get him to go into a LBS, so we had
to settle for places like Oshman's so we could kill two birds with one stone (forgive the pun). He
really fell for a GT Timberline. It's not top-of-the-line stuff by any means, but it does have basic
Shimano gear, v-brakes, aluminum rims, plenty of adjustability to get a good fit, enough padding to
make his [censored] happy, and best of all, it made him happy. It really is a step up from my old beater
bike. But then he didn't buy it.
He had all the good reasons - outside of his budget, didn't have time to ride, couldn't justify it,
etc. I even told my mother-in-law about it, but she said that he didn't ride the bike he has and it
would be a waste of money. Well, no wonder! The old clunker didn't fit well and was broken to boot!
So, I did the only thing I could do - I bought it myself. His birthday is coming up next month
anyway and the silly thing was almost half price on clearance. I can't wait to give it to him.
I just had to share. I love it when other people find a passion for cycling. I've been
slowly introducing him to it over the past few years. I think seeing his grand-daughter
asking for a "bisickum ride" and the big grin when she gets in the trailer was the final
blow. He's ready to ride!
-Buck