Another biker into the MMM fold

[valk001]

So I have been reading MMM for about a year.  In which time I changed my saving from a measly 5% to in between 50-60% per month and was able to pay off my car.  But all the bike talk and articles got me looking into bikes a lot.  I surfed the bike forms, craigslist and bookoo (Okinawa version of craigslist).  I wanted one that turned out to be about 700$, while not cheap it is a decent investment that will produce a positive ROI.  Just today one of my coworkers was talking about how he was giving away a bike FOR FREE!!! I jumped at the chance to snatch it off his hands.  While it does not have all the fancy bells and whistles (road bike style with rim brakes...yada yada yada) it is a bike that will get me from A to B.  My work is 6ish kilometers away so it is well within range.  I have to fix up the tires and get some safety equipment: lights, helmet and reflective stuff, but I thought that it is a MMM moment (a M.M.M.M.?) worth sharing.

[HenryDavid]

Good decision.
I think of my bike commuting as a really fun side job that nets me about $5k every year, minimum.
Compound that over the past 25 years.
And even without that I'd be grateful for the health benefits, both mental and physical.
Pedaling a bike is just a fun thing to do.

Just a few minutes ago we were looking out the window at breakfast, noticing a neighbour starting up the car.
"Yup, some people run those things almost every single day of the week," we said. Seems so strange.

[rocketman48097]

Great decision.  In my 9 months of biking to work (3.2 miles each way), I have shed 20 pounds, and I come to work happy and awake everyday.  Same thing happens on the ride home.  Rain sucks, but I deal with it.  Cold isn't bad at all, I just dress appropriately and the roads are dry. 

[dividendman]

Nice work dude! I find fixing up my bike is pretty fun too. I've learned how to true the wheels, fix flats, replace chains, replace the crankset, adjust the front and rear derailers... so much fun. (it wasn't fun when I broke all of these things though :P)

I am trying to bike most days of the week... man, every day I bike i feel so much better at work! I've never regretted biking in.

The days I don't bike in due to whatever I feel lethargic. I really think I need to sell my car so I have no choice.

[otherbarry]

Nice work dude! I find fixing up my bike is pretty fun too. I've learned how to true the wheels, fix flats, replace chains, replace the crankset, adjust the front and rear derailers... so much fun. (it wasn't fun when I broke all of these things though :P)

I am trying to bike most days of the week... man, every day I bike i feel so much better at work! I've never regretted biking in.

The days I don't bike in due to whatever I feel lethargic. I really think I need to sell my car so I have no choice.

I took a POS bike my dad had in his garage with me to college. When I finally started trying to fix it up I realized I'd been riding it with three broken spokes on the rear wheel for who knows how long. Trying to true that thing was next to impossible without a tensiometer, but man am I lucky it didn't collapse on me while riding it.

I'm looking into fixing the gear system next as it currently skips fourth gear.

[valk001]

I am going to get one of those bike repair kits because there is some stuff that I am going to change/ upgrade on the bike as times goes on.  But I think I am going to enjoy the experience as a whole.  I did the math, and at the worst part of my commuting life (which will never happen again) I was spending about 3K in gas a year.  Thankfully that is in the past.  I have to get some fenders and lights for the bike.  I am looking forward to tinkering with it. 

[otherbarry]

Also if you want a bunch of in-depth articles about bikes:

http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners.html

The site is a bit of a pain to navigate but there's a lot of good info on there.

[valk001]

Awesome, thank you!