HOW DO YOU AFFORD THIS SPORT???

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:34:40 -0800, Maggie wrote:

I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do people afford
to ride bikes. The rubber suits cost a fortune. The prices on some of
the bicycles were ridiculous and I walked out of there in a daze. I
never in my life saw so much "STUFF" to ride a bike. I did buy a new
seat for my bike. It was reasonable I guess. I guess you have to be
quite well off to take up the sport of cycling. My sons skydive and
snowboard and also ride motorcycles....I don't think they spend half as
much money as it would cost to become an avid cyclist.

You don't pay the gas bills for your car? In Canada, just the gas would
pay for all your cycling expenses, and Canada sells oil to the USA.

If you drive you need a health club and all the clothes. Don't forget the
$000s for equipment for extra exercises at home.

And the extra time all this driving and exercising in highway and gym
traffic jams takes over just commuting by bike ... how much would you pay
yourself per hour?

My wife likes driving but it's a chore to me. Riding a bike is pleasure.
Would you buy the worst wine, the harshest coffee, second hand clothes?

It's okay to enjoy life. You deserve it.

Doug

Maggie wrote:

I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do people
afford to ride bikes. The rubber suits cost a fortune. The prices on
some of the bicycles were ridiculous and I walked out of there in a
daze. I never in my life saw so much "STUFF" to ride a bike.

:-)

And I just got back from Home Depot. I never saw so much "STUFF" to put
into a house!

Since I can't afford to buy _all_ the stuff at Home Depot, I guess I'll
have to give up my house! Hmmm. Maybe I'll get a teepee.


So, to get serious: you don't _need_ to buy all that "stuff." Get a
bike. Get it used, if you like. Check your thrift shops, if you care to.

Get a bike. Go for a ride. For daylight riding, that's all you need.

(If you're riding at night, add a headlight. Depending on your needs,
that might cost as little as $10 - or as little as $16 for a generator
that will never need batteries.)

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

(Maggie)

wrote:


I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do people
afford to ride bikes. The rubber suits cost a fortune. The prices on
some of the bicycles were ridiculous and I walked out of there in a
daze. I never in my life saw so much "STUFF" to ride a bike. I did
buy a new seat for my bike. It was reasonable I guess. I guess you
have to be quite well off to take up the sport of cycling. My sons
skydive and snowboard and also ride motorcycles....I don't think they
spend half as much money as it would cost to become an avid cyclist.


Either this is a bad troll or Maggie's sons are lying to her about how much
they spend. I don't have the slightest idea what snowboarding costs but I know
how much skydiving and owning a motorcycle cost and there is simply no
comparison. Individually both are *much* more expensive than bicycling both in
"start up" costs and annual expenses.
Maggie, are you paying for your sons' hobbies? If so, would you like to adopt
another son? My only expensive hobbies are shotguns and bikes. I already own my
"dream bike" but I have my eye on a Perazzi combo set in 12, 20, and 28 gauge.
It's way less money than my bike. Honest. g

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Maggie wrote:
I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do
people
afford to ride bikes.

"Racing" bikes is one thing, and if you want top-notch
racing stuff you will be into $. However, racing cars is
probably $$$$$.
"Riding" bikes is quite another, and is not particularly
expensive as hobbies go. In particular, if you bike enough
to own one less car you are going to be saving money big
time.

The rubber suits cost a fortune.

What rubber suit? Were you in a triathalon store, looking at
a wet suit that would be used for cold weather swimming?

The prices on
some of the bicycles were ridiculous and I walked out of
there in a
daze.

You CAN spend $5000 on a bike, but almost nobody does. These
are very limited production models or quasi-custom. You can
drive a Porche, too, but almost nobody does.

My sons
skydive and snowboard and also ride motorcycles....I don't
think they
spend half as much money as it would cost to become an
avid cyclist.

This seems impossible. You must not be making anywhere near
an apple-to-orange comparison.

--
Mike Kruger
A new Florida poll shows President Bush winning the state by
twenty
thousand lawyers. - Andy Borowitz

In article ,
(Maggie) wrote:

I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do people
afford to ride bikes. The rubber suits cost a fortune. The prices on
some of the bicycles were ridiculous and I walked out of there in a
daze. I never in my life saw so much "STUFF" to ride a bike. I did
buy a new seat for my bike. It was reasonable I guess. I guess you
have to be quite well off to take up the sport of cycling. My sons
skydive and snowboard and also ride motorcycles....I don't think they
spend half as much money as it would cost to become an avid cyclist.

Simple answer...hardly ever go out to eat, avoid the mall at all cost, drive
a cheap car, don't spend money on fancy electronic gear, etc. It's really
all a matter of priorities. My bikes (and my health) simply matter to me
more than some frills that many of my peers seem to consider necessities.

"Maggie" wrote in message
om...
I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do people
afford to ride bikes. The rubber suits cost a fortune. The prices on
some of the bicycles were ridiculous and I walked out of there in a
daze. I never in my life saw so much "STUFF" to ride a bike. I did
buy a new seat for my bike. It was reasonable I guess. I guess you
have to be quite well off to take up the sport of cycling. My sons
skydive and snowboard and also ride motorcycles....I don't think they
spend half as much money as it would cost to become an avid cyclist.

Your sons probably spend more money on their sports than you realizeg

Cycling doesn't have to be expensive. You can buy used or entry level bikes
for less than $400. That's all the equipment you absolutely need to get
started. Of course it's nice to have the other equipment such as bike
specific clothing but that can be added a little at a time. I happen to be
one of those people who can't go to the bike shop unless I come home with
some new toyg I consider my bike an investment in my health.

Beverly

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:34:40 -0800, Maggie wrote:

I just arrived home from a Bike store. How in the world do people afford
to ride bikes. The rubber suits cost a fortune.

Rubber suits?

I did buy a new seat for my
bike. It was reasonable I guess.

You do it one bit at a time. Most of it lasts for a long time. I ride
bikes that are 30 years old.

I guess you have to be quite well off to
take up the sport of cycling. My sons skydive and snowboard and also
ride motorcycles....I don't think they spend half as much money as it
would cost to become an avid cyclist.

You're dreaming. Bikes are a lot cheaper than motorcycles, and the
equipment is also cheaper. Besides, motorcycles don't help you get fit.

Some people spend 10x what I do, but others think me a fanatic. It's all
a question of scale.

You really want cheap? Try running. Barefoot. But then, be sure you
have a good medical plan. Personally, I*can't stand to run, but I can
ride forever. I keep the costs down by careful choices of stuff, and also
spread things out. It took me 20 years to go from having 2 bikes to 4.
Well, 5 if you count the one in pieces in the basement.


--

David L. Johnson

__o | Accept risk. Accept responsibility. Put a lawyer out of
_`\(,_ | business.
(_)/ (_) |

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 19:55:39 -0500, ,
"Emily" wrote:

Simple answer...hardly ever go out to eat, avoid the mall at all cost, drive
a cheap car, don't spend money on fancy electronic gear, etc. It's really
all a matter of priorities. My bikes (and my health) simply matter to me
more than some frills that many of my peers seem to consider necessities.

I recently met a young woman who was delighted to be among people who
didn't think her odd to own a welder. She builds her own bikes.
--
zk

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:19:18 GMT,
, "Mike
Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles" wrote:

The only thing that, I'll admit,
really gets to me sometimes... the people who claim the only thing in the
world they really love doing is riding their bike, and yet they've got
something that's 20+ years old, being held together with duct tape, and
rather nasty about any suggestion that they might make an improvement on it
that would make it work better.

What I'll gasp at is their willingness to spend big bucks on
treadmills and other indoor exercise equipment to use for clothes
hangers.
--
zk

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:55:30 -0500,
, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:

It took me 20 years to go from having 2 bikes to 4.
Well, 5 if you count the one in pieces in the basement.

I hope it takes me that long to go from having 10 bikes to having
four. . . Well maybe five counting the one in pieces.
--
zk