Huh, and I thought the rear rack was handy...

Last weekend, Mark and I rode our bikes at the beach. Unfortunately, my bike is old, and a bit rusty. The front fender rubs against my tire, resulting in not only a loud, obnoxious sound, but decreased bike performance and increased rider frustration. I feel like an old lady pedaling as hard as I can, going nowhere.

It was, I realized, time for a new bike.

My first stop was Walmart, where my brother's girlfriend had purchased a really cute cruiser. I found two I liked. The only way to decide was to test drive them.

The first bike rode kind of rough. As I was pedaling the second bike slowly down the empty end aisle, an employee stopped me, saying I wasn't allowed to ride the bike in the store.

"Is there somewhere else I can ride it?" I asked.

"No," she said. "You can't ride it in here."

"How can I buy a bike if I can't test it out first?" I asked.

"You can't ride it here," she repeated yet again, as though I hadn't heard her the other two times.

I immediately dismounted and left the bike in the aisle. I refuse to give my money to stores with horrible customer service, and this was pretty bad.

My next stop was where I should have started in the first place--my beloved Target. They had the same bike, but in a deep blue, which I liked even better than the pale yellow at Walmart.

I like the women's bike, since I'm short, but all they had left were the men's bike. However, the seat was low enough that I could climb aboard without too much trouble. Within minutes, and with Mark acting as my lookout, I was zooming down the aisles at Target.

"I'll take it!" I told Mark. He then showed me the boy's section and tried convincing me to buy him a bike as well. I reminded him he'd gotten TWO new bikes in the past six years, and that my rusty bike at home was going on 20 years. Besides, I'm waiting for his next growth spurt, so I'm not buying him a new bike he'll outgrow in the next year.

We wheeled the bike out to my car, and realized they were both the same color (guess I'm in a blue mood these days). As we were loading the bike, I noticed a weird metal fixture on the front fork. I knelt down to inspect it.

"Hey, my bike has a bottle opener!" I called to Mark.

That totally cracked me up. I'd made a list of must-haves for my bike--a place for my water bottle, phone and Mark's meter; a rear rack; backpedal brakes; single gear coaster bike. Bottle opener was not on my list--don't think I've ever drank beer while riding my bike, but hey, guess there's always a first time for everything!

I recalled a concert in the park last month, when my brother Smed had called, asking me to bring a bottle opener. I realized now if I'd had this bike, I'd already have an opener with me!

So there you go...not only do I have a shiny new bike, I also have a new portable bar. Kinda defeats the purpose I bought it for--exercise--but what it lacks in practicality, it makes up for in humor.

Anyone up for a bike ride? Or a beer?  Or BOTH? ;-)