on clunkers and new bikes

Well, this is how the Ladies Raleigh ended up. I sold it the other day, but did not really make too much money on it. If I'd think my labour was worth anything I'd be loosing money on this one so I try to ignore that fact. The girl that bought it was a cute little pixie from Nelson that had just moved here with her boyfriend and I felt like helping them out. In any case, she looked awesome on the bike and was polite and eloquent in her e-mails to me. That goes a long way in my books. Now I have two other ones to sell:

Good Year Hi-Way Patrol/Columbia Roadster

Raleigh (Sprite I think, but with wicked "aftermarket" drop bars)

I'm still not sure about the age of these bikes, but they both cleaned up nicely. I've been having a lot of fun cruising around on the Columbia, and If it ware a bit bigger I'd probably keep it. You would not think it, but the Columbia rides like a dream. Steel frame, steel rims and nice 26 1 3/8" tires equal a super smooth ride. There's also something about baskets and coaster brakes that just puts a smile on my face. I'll sell these for cheap too, because I need the money for this: That's a 2009 Trek Remedy 8 that I'm working on getting. It's a nice compromise for me since most of my riding will be done in all mountain situations but I seem to be drifting a little bit into the freeriding category as well. This will be a bike that I can pedal up the hill and then cook down it. I'm not blown away by the "Rootbeer and white" paint scheme but I don't mind it either, it's a little different and I think I can learn to like it. With the introduction of the Trek Scratch for this year the Remedy has been changed up a bit. It now has steeper angles and a 32mm fork as opposed to the 36mm fork on the 2009. So that's why I'm going for the 2009 version. Of course the two old clunkers wont pay for a new mountain bike, so my old one has to go too. It's served me well, but it's time to move on.