The Great Jettison: Part 2

The Bike

The legend of The Bike

I love free stuff.  I'll take just about anything I think I can use.  Many things I take and later decide to ditch myself, but once in a while, I find a true gem.  See above for one of my favorites.

This I found on the curb across the street.  I believe the neighbors were moving out quickly and just couldn't take it with them.  I don't have the measurements, but this thing was a big, heavy hog.   I dragged this thing to the garage, cleaned all the dust and spider egg sacs (yeah) out of it, put in some new batteries, and it worked like a charm!  For two years it was in the basement in front of the gaming TV.  My workout motivation technique was to give myself video game time ONLY when I was on the bike.  It gave me a rebirth of interest in my old games AND helped me stay in shape.

I played all the way through Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, Resident Evil (Jill only), Resident Evil 2 (Claire and Leon A and B games), Pokemon Blue, and a few other RPGs.  I found out quickly that action games and platformers do NOT work when on the bike.  I just don't have the capacity to pedal quickly while guiding Mario, Megaman, or Link safely through their respective dangerous worlds.

When I first started on Craigslist, I thought this might be a good candidate with which to check the internet waters.  After all, I had gotten it for free AND it was in great shape.  I posted it and was hearing interest.  I looked on Craigslist for other home exercise equipment and was shocked by how much people were asking for their junky stuff.  I saw those simple bikes whose resistance comes from fan blades in the front wheel and some other nasties, all for $75 plus.  Yikes!  My philosophy of Craigslist has always been "price to sell."  I don't want to go through the work of managing a post for months and months trying to milk out every possible cent, despite what you might think of me. 

I sold it for $50 to a nice couple who helped us get it up the stairs and took it away in their truck.  This worked out so nicely because our Honda certainly doesn't have room for that beast, so bringing it to a secondhand shop was out of the question.

The very best part of the sale was that I think everyone got a good deal.  Even though I got it for free, I think the people who bought it still got a bargain, so we all got what we wanted.  I made a nice profit on an item I got for free and used for two years, and they got a high-quality bike for a reasonable price plus pickup.  What a wonderful world.

All it needed was new batteries.  Get me a heart rate reading, STAT!

The heaviest part of The Bike.  Bye bye, little buddy!