I won a bike at work. How cool is that? I was given $750 to spend on any piece of exercise equipment I wanted. So after weighing it heavily and discussing it with my husband, I decided to get 2 bikes because he promised to ride with me. So off we went to the bike store yesterday to buy 2 bikes.

We stopped a Sports Authority first. They had several bikes on display but nobody there to help you select the one that was right for what we wanted. Since neither of us have been on a bike for many years and my husband has had both a hip and knee replaced, we needed help selecting the type of bike that would work best for us. Not a racer, not a mountain bike but some type of a hybrid that would work on country roads, bike trails and parks.

So off we went to a bike shop, knowing we would probably pay more but would at least have someone to talk to and we were right. The young man that waited on us was very patient, didn't laugh when we asked stupid questions, explained the differences between bikes and really helped us make the right selection. Ahhh... then came the sales pitch. "Because you bought 2 bikes today you can have 10% off any accessories you buy." Who would have thought that a kickstand was an accessory? What kind of a bike doesn't come with a kickstand. So tag on another $20 each. How about a helmet for another $50, bike shorts for another $130 or cold weather outerwear for hundreds more??? We passed on all but the necessary kickstand and loaded up my bike to take home. My husband's bike had to be assembled for pick up on Monday.

Anyway, I was like a kid on Christmas with my new bike, even though I'm 59. I felt excited and couldn't help but smile. I can't ever remember having a bike that was as nice as this one when I was little. Our bikes were inexpensive compared to most in the store, just $440 each when we saw many bikes over $4,000 and one was even $7,500.

I didn't have time to ride when we got home yesterday but I am looking forward to a nice long ride today with my new bike! Can't wait!!!