Bike season upon us

Bike riding season

It is upon us. Took a ride Friday afternoon to Beeton’s Cyclery to get a key made and have them look at the kickstand on my bike because the end snapped off. It is a ½-inch short now, sort of like me. I’ve been propping it up with an old Horatio Alger book. There may be symbolism in that.

Wear and tear

The battery runs down a little more quickly now. The tires are worn. It has some scrapes from a couple unfortunate spills – a handlebar to the ribs will make you sore for weeks. The battery runs down a bit faster than it used to. I paid $1,800 4 years ago for the bike on Facebook Marketplace.

I have pedaled almost 6,000 miles. It might need tires but still goes up and down Lewiston Hill like a champ.

The minuses are it has no integrated lights. I lost one set taken at the State Park. When the headlight and the taillight disappear you know it is theft.

A couple tail lights have bounced off as well.

I still have a Bianchi hybrid tucked in the back of the garage but the electronic assist Como allows me to go anywhere I want, even on a hot day, without breaking a sweat.

Aventon test ride

I took an Aventon e-bike for a test ride while I was at Beetons, on sale for $1,600 and very tempting. I have $250 available from a health insurance card, a $650 rebate available from a grant program and $300 in credit card points. It starts to get cost effective. The trouble is I didn’t like the ride.

Sure it is fast, and comfortable, but the rear-hub mounted motor does not feel like a bicycle because it doesn’t have a torque sensor that adds or reduces assistance according to how hard you pedal. Still, it is very tempting.

I pedaled it downtown to have a look at the Second Street Hydraulic Canal Heritage Gateway construction. It’s great the stone wall still stands along second street. I circled back along the bike path in search of rumored morels but found none.

Eventually, I will likely spend twice as much on a bike I like more.