Bike Disaster!

I have the worst luck with bikes. And I'm just pretty stupid.

So yesterday, I found a nice road bike for about $80 being sold by one of the university students leaving for the mainland. The front tire was missing, but it was still in pretty decent looking shape. Further inquiry brought me to the bike and bike owner.

So $80, it's cheaper than an above average Wal-Mart bike, I thought about the bike. Plus it was a name brand that was build to last. I also saw the bike around campus, so I knew it worked too. It seemed like it was a decent enough deal.

However, because the front tire was missing, I couldn't ride it and give the proper test drive it needed. And so, I pretty much made the mistake of buying the bike in good faith. I mean, I saw it ridden around campus, so it had to have been working, right?

I guess I was mistaken.

So I buy a tire and I set everything up. Perfect.

I hop on the pike and take a few pedals forward. Perfect once again.

Then I take a couple of pedals forward again, and this horrible grinding sound takes place and the gears shift all by itself. Not so perfect.

So when I bought the bike I was told the gears stuck. A minor problem that could be easily remedied with some WD40.

So I hop on again, take a couple of pedals forward and endure some more awkward gear shifting and grinding noises. Not perfect, but I can live with it.

Ask anyone who knows me and they can tell you, I'm never in short supply of bad ideas. Today's first bad idea: ride the bike to work.

So I hop on the bike and begin pedaling towards my place of employment. Despite the awkward grinding of gears, I'm going at considerable speed and I have the wind in my hair. I feel so free. So this is that open road those bikers are always talking about, I think to myself. Euphoria is rushing me when all of a sudden the gear shifts the bike chain right off and I lose total control of the bike. Luckily, nothing serious happens.

Ok, that was close. Maybe I should head back home and just drive to work while I still have the chance...

And now comes bad idea number two. I decide to just put the chain back on the gear, and keep biking to work.

With the wind in my hair, the idea that I'm helping the environment, and sneaking in a bit of excercise, I'm totally caught off guard when the chain is shifted off of the gears a second time. And this time, things aren't so pretty.

I put my feet down to try and stop the bike. My body stays glued to the pavement, but the bike is still caught in inertia, resulting in a bend-over-boyfriend for all the cars passing by to see. There are some places, a bike seat was never meant to go.

(And for those who don't know what a bend-over-boyfriend is, google it while you are alone. And then think about the awkward shape of the bike saddle going somewhere it isn't supposed to.)

After this, I decide to walk the rest of the way to work, which isn't too bad, a good 15 minutes at the most. But the whole time, my butt was in the most intense pain imaginable. Plus, I think I lost my ability to partake in the baby-making process.

Luckily, after hearing about my fiasco, the guy I bought my bike from agreed to pay for a new derailleur. And next time, I think I'll just go for the Wal-Mart bike.