My new bike!
I am now the proud owner of a shiny new, bright blue bike! Look how cute it is!
We bought it this afternoon (yes, something was open on a Sunday) at a liquidation sale at the Messe (the exhibition hall). Kirk saw the ad in the paper this morning and we thought we'd try our luck. Considering they were advertising everything from mountain bikes starting at 299 CHF to clothes and bedding and shoes, we figured it could be just a bunch of junk, but it was worth checking out nonetheless. Who knew I would actually come home with a new Trek mountain bike? It wasn't quite as cheap as 299 CHF (I don't recall seeing any adult bikes for 299 CHF), but not much more than that. We actually got a real bargain as compared with the regular prices of bikes in the stores here. I'm also glad to support a good Wisconsin company like Trek. I've been wanting a new bike ever since I came back to Basel after my summer in Wisconsin last year. I have a bike here that I brought with me from DC, but I bought it 11 years ago when I was scraping by on the salary of a Capitol Hill staffer, and I'm sick of it. Last summer while I was living in Wisconsin, I often rode my Mom's bike (it was a good stress-reliever and break from the house), and once I came back to Basel and rode my old one I realized it was a piece of junk! I was thrilled this morning when Kirk suggested we go look at this sale. Even though I've wanted a new bike to ride around Basel I had figured that we're only here until February and it's not worth the high Swiss prices. Now I can look forward to exploring Switzerland by bike this summer! I'm anxious to go for a ride, but first I have to buy my bike "insurance" sticker from the post office and get the proper lights installed. Both are required by Swiss law, and if you know anything about the Swiss you'll know that they take their bike regulations very seriously.
We bought it this afternoon (yes, something was open on a Sunday) at a liquidation sale at the Messe (the exhibition hall). Kirk saw the ad in the paper this morning and we thought we'd try our luck. Considering they were advertising everything from mountain bikes starting at 299 CHF to clothes and bedding and shoes, we figured it could be just a bunch of junk, but it was worth checking out nonetheless. Who knew I would actually come home with a new Trek mountain bike? It wasn't quite as cheap as 299 CHF (I don't recall seeing any adult bikes for 299 CHF), but not much more than that. We actually got a real bargain as compared with the regular prices of bikes in the stores here. I'm also glad to support a good Wisconsin company like Trek. I've been wanting a new bike ever since I came back to Basel after my summer in Wisconsin last year. I have a bike here that I brought with me from DC, but I bought it 11 years ago when I was scraping by on the salary of a Capitol Hill staffer, and I'm sick of it. Last summer while I was living in Wisconsin, I often rode my Mom's bike (it was a good stress-reliever and break from the house), and once I came back to Basel and rode my old one I realized it was a piece of junk! I was thrilled this morning when Kirk suggested we go look at this sale. Even though I've wanted a new bike to ride around Basel I had figured that we're only here until February and it's not worth the high Swiss prices. Now I can look forward to exploring Switzerland by bike this summer! I'm anxious to go for a ride, but first I have to buy my bike "insurance" sticker from the post office and get the proper lights installed. Both are required by Swiss law, and if you know anything about the Swiss you'll know that they take their bike regulations very seriously.
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