n - 1 + 1 + 1

my bike ownership went to n-1 when this bike was stolen

Not too long ago, Bonnie Blue, my step-through grocery shopping bike (above) was stolen. It was in a bike rack in my front yard, right up against the house. Unlocked, I admit, but still...  It was there in the morning when I left for my long country ride; it was gone when I returned.
My bike ownership stats went from n to (n-1) in the space of a couple of hours.

I was sad and not a little indignant at the thought of someone helping themselves to my beloved bike. To add insult to injury, not only did they get a bike, they got panniers, a back rack pack, a front basket, a lock with its key and 3 handmade reusable shopping bags. There was a set of tire levers and a spare tube in the rack pack as well.

I used this bike a lot for running errands around town. As I thought about replacing it, I asked myself: Should I wait for another great garage sale find? Should I buy a cheap step-through bike from SportChek? Or should I buy a good quality dual-purpose bike -- a sturdy commuter bike with a step-through frame?

I finally decided on the latter and bought a Trek 7.2 FX:

Silver - my new commuter

I bought it two weeks ago and used it all last week to ride to and from work. I am happy with it. It's fast and comfy; it carries all my loot -- and I can ride in a skirt. Two days last week I didn't bother to change clothes before riding home and just wore my skirt and regular top. The only drawback is that because of a recent surge in bike thefts downtown (or maybe everywhere!) I have to bring the bike inside through a set of heavy wooden doors. The bike is light, but the doors are heavy and don't stay open on their own. The first few days I got someone to help me, but by Thursday I felt like I had the knack and it didn't seem so bad.
The stats were readjusted: n - 1 + 1 = n

And every cloud does indeed have a silver lining: the story about bike thefts, with its short video, made an excellent current events lesson for my ESL class. A few of us ride bikes to school, so the topic was relevant.

I hadn't given up my dream of finding an inexpensive used road bike. Every day I combed Kijiji ads for something within my budget. I test rode two Trek bikes. The first was comfortable, but a bit overpriced and undermaintained -- it was rather dirty and the shifting was rough. The second bike was on the small side, with 650c wheels. It wasn't a terrible fit, but not great either, and the handlebars had been taped with electrical tape, which was a bit of a put-off. I made a low-ball offer on that bike, but the seller ended up selling to someone else. But on Thursday I found just what I was looking for: a 2007 WSD Trek 1000. We had to drive to a hamlet about 20 km east of Edmonton, but it was worth it: the perfect size, beautifully maintained and inexpensive.

And here she is...

Milly - my first road bike

On Friday, being too nervous to ride it down any hills, I rode for 25 km south of town, on flat roads and came home feeling uncertain. Was it really better than my Specialized flatbar? I couldn't decide.

Saturday morning I decided to be brave and rode 25 km north of town, uphill and down. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to pedal uphill. But as far as I was concerned, the real test was riding downhill. I was scared, but it went fine. The only thing about the bike that I wasn't happy with was that the chain was quite dirty. The bike had been hanging in a workshop for about five years and grime had accumulated. So after my morning ride, I went to the bike shop and asked Bike Shop Guy about chain cleaners. He recommended a spray and a lube, showed me how to use them and even gave the bike a quick check-up. The headset was slightly loose, so he tightened that for me, but other than that, he said I got a good buy.

Saturday afternoon I went riding again, about 35 km. I came back because I was getting a little saddle sore. Now I need to figure out if it's just a matter of getting used to that particular saddle or if I should replace it with a skinnier one. Either way, I am happy with the bike and look forward to many more rides.

After all this, here is what I ended up with: n - 1 + 1 + 1 = n + 1.
("n" is, of course, the number of bikes already in my possession on the morning of the theft.)
If the ideal number of bikes to own is really n + 1, it looks like I am there.

On the other hand, some say the ideal number of bicycles to own is really (n - 1), where n is the number of bikes you'd need to have to cause your partner to leave you. Since Hubby is very tolerant and likes me a lot, that number could be quite high, so maybe that is what I should aim for!

I rode quite a lot yesterday -- two country rides, plus a trip to the grocery store, plus two trips to the bike shop. (I had to have Bike Shop Guy re-attach a kick-stand he put on my commuter bike last week. It fell off just as I was getting ready to ride away from work on Thursday afternoon.)

On one of my bike shop runs, this is what I found in front of me:

They were headed back to their assisted living facility a short distance away. The sight gave rise to some bittersweet thoughts. How nice for them that they have the wooded trail to ride on. How sad that they (especially the first guy, who is quite young) have to ride at all, instead of walking. How nice that they have each other. How sad that they have to live in assisted living. How nice that there is a pleasant assisted living facility in such proximity to the woods. 

I didn't have the heart to ring my bell and attempt to pass them, so I rode slowly behind until they had turned off towards home.