Stolen bikes and broken ankles: When good people get screwed (My bike, friend's ankle)

Last night, I stopped to see my friend Amy on my way home, because she broke her ankle.  She's been pretty shut in over the last few months.

This is the x-ray of her ankle.  You can actually see the faint lines of where she broke it, in two places.  One break is right where the leftmost screw starts the grooves, just to the left of it... and the other is midway between the bottom two screws on the right.

 Picture 859

Anyway, I locked my bike up in front of her apartment, but not right in front of the doorman, because there's construction and no place to put it in plain sight.  I was maybe there for about an hour and when I came back, the bike was gone and all that was left was my broken lock and chain. 

I wasn't that bothered by it actually.  I never spend more than $250 on a bike, because I assume it will get stolen every two years or so.  This one I got three years out of.  Tack on the $200 of various accessories and maintenance I did and I averaged about a $12.50 a month cost.  That's pretty good, considering all the train fare I saved--definitely came out ahead.

So now I'm in the market for a new bike.  I definitely want something lighter and taller than I had, and mildly considering a single speed bike, but the ones I've seen are a bit hard on the suspension or seem not to have any at all.  

So, if you know anyone selling a used bike that would fit a 34" inseam for $250 or less, please let me know.

 

 

The Spiral: A financial mini-series done in subtitled redux

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