New Wheels

When I moved to Utah last year, I was unable to bring my old mountain bike with me, as my car rack was incompatible with my wife's car, and my car was being shipped. I asked my family to mail me the bike this summer, but it was very complicated to disassemble and pack, so it still resides in Pennsylvania.

Though I haven't biked a ton in recent years, I have always enjoyed riding. I made up my mind that I wanted a new bike, but which one? My old bike is a Trek 800, a basic, no-frills, low-end mountain bike. Still, I was impressed enough with the quality of Trek's equipment to seek their bikes first (they also are slightly cheaper than Cannondale or Specialized). I had a hard time choosing between another mountain bike and a hybrid style.

I settled on the hybrid, and from there it was just a matter of finding the money to purchase a Trek 7000, their least expensive hybrid (I bought mine for $279.99). As my wife and I are using most of our disposable income to improve our home, I had to seek outside sources for cash flow. I decided to "donate" blood plasma.

I have never had trouble giving blood, and plasma centers actually pay you money (and you can donate plasma twice per week). The process can be a bit irritating, but getting $55 for every two visits in the same week, totaling 3 hours of my time, is good money. I expect to donate for about one month to defray my bike's cost.

The bike itself seems very nice. It is basic, but does everything that a bike should do. I have only ridden it a short distance, as I was unsure if I remounted my front wheel correctly. If not, it is very close. I am glad to have the bike, as I can now enjoy the last couple weeks with warm weather, and be ready to go in the spring. I may post future updates about features or experiences that I find especially satisfying/irritating.