After 13 years of thinking about getting another bike, I broke down and bought a cruiser.
Ever since I started swimming at the community pool a few months ago, I’ve been thinking about biking there instead of driving.
Driving the 10 miles round-trip sucked. Traffic sucked. Putting 70 extra miles a week on my car sucked. Paying for more gas sucked. In general, I think driving sucks.
A few weeks ago I decided to take advantage of my ample free time give biking to the pool a shot.
It’s been fantastic.
Then I bought my cruiser and it got even better.
I bought a cruiser bike because I wanted something simple.
I wanted to be able to sit upright, put my feet on the ground at intersections and casually meander around the neighborhood.
I missed the simplicity, durability and low maintenance my bikes had when I was a kid and rode everywhere.
After visiting a couple of local bike shops I was disappointed with their selection of cruisers. They started at $550.
I didn’t want to get a bike from Walmart or Dick’s because I’ve read that they are junk. I wanted my cruiser to last for thousands of miles and years of use.
I finally settled on a SixThreeZero Cruiser. It’s got a coaster break, a rear rack, fenders, and a three speed internal hub.
It is freakin’ awesome.
It’s like the bike I rode as a kid, except with 3 speeds!
I have nicknamed it “The Bomber” and “The Tank”. It is big and heavy. It’s painted matte black. It is a no frills, utilitarian transportation machine.
It has changed the way I ride.
- Despite riding twice as far as I’d been riding, I have no pain in my shoulders, wrists, back or neck.
- I can wave at drivers to thank them for yielding, passing with a wide margin or even stopping to let me through. With a coaster break, I do not need to have both hands ready to stop me anytime.
- My ride is more casual. I make decent time, but I’m more laid back. You can only go so fast on a cruiser and it’s better to ride slower and enjoy the scenery.
My plan is to gradually replace nearly all of my driving with biking. I plan to get a trailer so I can take the dog to the park. I’ll bike to my nightly volunteer get-togethers. I may even start biking to the grocery store.
I still need a car for bigger shopping trips, veterinary visits and occasional long trips, but over time I anticipate driving less and less.
I’ll definitely be car-lite. This experiment may lead to me becoming carfree, although I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet.
I call my new bike commute slow riding. There’s more to come on this soon.