My new baby

Well, here it is. Finally, I got a new bike. I've been thinking I'd like one for a long time, and for the past 6-8 months, I've been using an old one that a neighbour who was moving had in her shed and gave me for free. It had the advantage of being free, but it was stuck in second gear, was quite rusty and of course, was ancient. Today, it also decided to have the front wheel out of alignment which meant the wheel rubbed when I tried to ride it, so I decided to take the plunge and get a new bike.

Having the free one has as least shown me that I will use the bike - I've been riding it quite a bit, especially since the weather got better, so it's worth investing in. I expect I'll ride it even more once Alex is in school full time - great for small errands, to go to yoga or swimming, local visits, etc. And I bought these lovely panniers, so I can actually run errands without having to keep everything in a backpack, which is fine when it's small stuff, but less good for milk and other heavy grocery items.

Rode the bike home from the shop today when I collected it and it's a joy to ride - unlike the old one, which was really hard work to get moving at any speed, this actually goes quickly when you pedal hard. Not sure what I will do with 24 gears (!) but they all seem to have that these days. I'm really looking forward to getting out and about on it - just hope the weather holds...