Isn’t that a beautiful bike? Here’s the story…it’s a follow up to my previous post. Tanya was driving down Plymouth Avenue in Rochester, thinking…”You know, I’ve NEVER seen a GT Nomad…if I see one, I will know that it’s mine.” A few blocks later, she saw someone on a GT Nomad, a young man, stopped in a parking lot talking to a woman in a parked car.
Tanya pulled in to the parking lot, got out of her car, looked him straight in the eye (not an easy feat, since she’s 5′4″ and he was over 6′), and said, “You’re on my bike. Get off my bike.” He got kind of flustered, and said that he paid for it, it’s his bike. This exchange continued for a few minutes, with him getting more agitated and saying, “I didn’t steal your bike…it’s my bike.”
She decided to try another tactic (this was her most prudent moment of the interaction). She said, “Let me start over. My name is Tanya (extending hand). What’s yours?” He reluctantly shook her hand and told her his name. She told him that she’s had the bike for over 10 years, and it means a lot to her, then asked him how much he paid for the bike…the answer, $20. She said, “I’ll give you $40 for it. Get off the bike and follow me home, where I have the money.” He did so, she put it on the bike rack, and in her least prudent moment of the interaction, invited him to get in her car.
His female friend said, “No, he’ll ride with me.” Was she protecting him from Tanya? I don’t know, but I’m glad she did it, for whatever reason.
They followed Tanya home, got their $40, and Tanya had her bike back. This whole thing makes me simultaneously proud and terrified.
But wait…there’s more. Tanya took the bike to Full Moon Vista to get a wheel (since the thieves had replaced her nice one with a cheap one), lights, etc. While there, she noticed a Trek that she had been researching. She called me to come down and try it out.
Kyle sweet-talked me into buying it (perhaps that’s because I practically begged him to give me reasons to buy it). Seriously, I tried it out and I love it! By the way, philosophically I’m totally with Adam on buying from Craig’s list…but there are two factors against such an approach. First, I’m not so patient as to wait until just the right bike comes along. Second, I did not inherit the lesbian mechanical-skills gene (maybe that’s because I’m bi, but that’s another story), and would feel totally overwhelmed at having to make major repairs/parts replacement.
One more thing…perhaps you noticed how well the water bottle matches the bike (come on, you can admit it!). Here’s a closer picture just in case you missed it…
I bought that water bottle on Saturday, the day before my Specialized was stolen. All I can say is that I must have been meant to have this sweet blue Trek.
I brought it home last night, where it is being kept in an undisclosed location…bike thieves, don’t even think about it! Like I said, you don’t want to mess with my butch girlfriend.
Richard Gates is a heart transplant recipient. He’s also on a bicycle tour from Cleveland to Boston to promote organ donation. And tomorrow (Monday), he comes to Albany. 
CAPITAL REGION — After an 8-year-old boy was hit by a car while riding his bike in Amsterdam, his mother was ticketed for his violation of the state’s bicycle helmet safety law.
Long ago and far away, a bicycle was my main mode of transportation.
