Sexy Trike

Well, it sure has been a while since I wrote about bikes. Gosh, it's been a while since I've written about anything. No apologies, just change.

Today I had the occasion to burn an hour or so in Portland, so my son and I stopped by Coventry Cycle Works and slobbered a little. The friendly staff showed him a folding bicycle, and let him sit in a few trikes. We found one trike we mutually admired, then pondered how much trouble we would be in if we slapped it on the credit card and brought it home. It's a gorgeous Sun EZ-3 USX for $1029. I quietly confided to my son that the seat was at least 10 times more comfortable than the one I made for my recumbent project. He started to grasp the dollar amount when I told him it costs as much as 100 Bionicles. He said he thought he had about $10 saved up.....

That started me thinking if I could justify buying one. Let's suppose I consume about 1.8 gallons of diamond dusted, gold filtered, platinum fortified gasoline driving to and from work each day. At the coming price of $4/gallon, that's $7.20 a day. If I were to ride the bike instead of driving twice a week, I would save $14.40 per week, or $748 per year, assuming I'd also ride it around town to save gas on those weeks when I skip work to do garage projects. At that rate it would take me about 15 months to pay it off, and I would be a healthier/happier Jack. Now, if I can just sell the idea to the other half of the voting members in my financial club (my wife).

Jack