What is still at hand is the Dutch-Style bike quandary. Inspired by the comments on my last big post, I thought I would add an addendum...
Overwhelmed and indecisive – yep, that’s me. I should recap. I have been day dreaming over Dutch bikes for the last year or so. This Spring I decided maybe I should do something about it. I started out thinking about the price – I wanted an el-cheapo, cool looking bike that would get me somewhere in style, but not cost more than the Cannondale, and maybe I would care less if I came out of the store and she had vanished (doubt it, but that’s what I tell myself). Then as the search became more in-depth, I started getting really concerned about the weight of these Dutch-style bikes. Dern they are heavy! Then I tried to mix the two criteria - it isn’t working. Add to that that I believe where you put your money makes a statement, the fact that I work in the manufacturing industry and see the crap coming out of factories because it is made so cheaply and poorly, and the fact that I think it is worth spending good money for things that last – like shoes ;), and I started getting myself in a pickle. Add to that having a husband who races bikes, where it is all about making it light, and his questioning the logic of having one of these crazy bikes, and you have a big pool of mixed emotions.
We have a BMW 2002, it is impractical, requires upkeep, we can’t drive it here in Minnesota in the winter, and it is bare-bones 1972 construction, and we LOVE it. When we got this car fixed up, driving became not about getting from point a to b, but about the places and experiences in-between. This is what hubby brings to my life. I am coming around to the same conclusion about the Dutch-style bike. I’ve got the Cannondale for mostly point a to b, I need my 2002, no matter the cost and how impractical the reality.
Thanks for all the comments and helping me work through what clearly is not 'just a bike'.
