New Additions

Well, Spilly and I bought bikes today. Not just any bikes! These are fancy-schmancy swanky bikes. Spilly's is pink and white. Mine is a dusty blue. Spills has stars on hers and tassels and a wicker carrier at the front. Mine has a flower.

The last time I bought a bike was 16 years ago. I was amazed to discover that bikes have come a long way in that time. For one thing, you no longer have to move a lever to switch gears, toggling it slowly back and forth until it finds the "sweet spot" of the next gear up or down (or, in the case of my 16-year-old bike, whatever gear the bike decided it wanted to shift into). Now there's a swanky switch I flick, and the bike INSTANTLY shifts gears. Who knew it could be that easy???? Also, they now have women's "comfort" bikes with amazing shock absorbers that make you feel like you're riding on buddah.

I was very impressed with the guy who helped us. He took lots of time to measure me and the bike and did all kinds of adjustments to the bike's height and the length from the seat to the handles, etc. Since I'm the world's shortest person, I am very used to bikes feeling way too big for me. But THIS bike...ahhhhhh....it is exactly the right length and height for me. I didn't know that such things existed.

Spills, as usual, won herself a new ally in the Spills-will-conquer-the-world campaign. She engaged our salesperson in a lengthy dialogue about a wide range of topics. He said, "You're something else," several times. The upshot: she left the store with a number of complimentary items, including the coolest ladybug bike bell I have ever seen (its wings actually open and close). I might note that I was not offered anything of a complimentary nature.