Bike Like

As one of my eco-friendly resolutions for 2009, I bought a bike last weekend. This is my first bike in 20 years, but after a minute of OhMyGodImGoingToCrash panic, I am loving it.



Though there are some bikes on the market that are made from sustainable materials, they are way out of a librarian's price range. So I opted for a used bike.

I ended up at Once Ridden Bikes on Indianola. They fix up all of their bikes before selling them and they offer maintenance to walk-ins, which is good for a newbie like me. They were busy when I went in, but friendly. I was allowed to take the bikes out for test runs and they showed me how to take the front wheel off so that I could fit the bike in my car.

Here are some other places to search:

• Third Hand Bike Co-Op
  
• Play It Again Sports
• Craigslist
• local garage sales

This may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.