Last week I decided that since the weather’s getting warmer my newest hobby will be biking. I went up to Target in Westchester with my gf this weekend and bought me a shiny new schwinn along with all the cool (admittedly geeky) accessories – helmet, rear view mirror, lock, front and rear lights, pump, etc, etc. The whole shabang. Yesterday I suited up and rode the bike for the first time from my place in the East Village to work in Dumbo, BK. Went off without a hitch. Then I rode back home, in what I now refer to as “The Ride from Hell” Riding up the first half of the Manhattan Bride I hear some grinding gear noises. Then the chain pops off. I put it back on, but it promptly falls back off. Put it on again, falls off. At this point a friendly veteran bridge biker named Dave pulls over to help this distressed newbie. We flip the bike over, turn the pedals, and I notice that the back gears, which are supposed to be tight and flush on the wheel, are now loose and flopping around. Another biker sees the commotion and says, “you’re in luck, I have tools.” He takes one look at the 2 day old bike and says, “oh s**t, you need special tools for that, you’re screwed!”

you can't look much tougher than this

So now I’m on the midde of the Manhattan Bridge with a bike that doesn’t pedal. I managed to roll down the second half of the bridge basically with my legs pointing upward in a V so as not to touch the pedals so the gear doesn’t fall off again. People laughed and pointed. I was traumatized, but at least I could use the hill and I didn’t have to walk it on the bridge. Then came the bikewalk of shame through Chinatown, and up to the East Vil. I saw people riding 30 year old bikes by me without a care in the world as I walked my beautiful 2 day old bike with my shiny new helmet on my head. I walked all the way to the bike shop on 3rd and 1st to get the bike fixed (I wasn’t about to walk it to Grand Central to take a train back to Target in Westchester to exchange it). So now I’m going to prepare a nice email to Schwinn and Target’s customer service to see how they will remedy this situation. If they care at all about their customers they would at least pay for my repair bill. A little kickback for pain, suffering, and embarassment on the bridge would be nice, but I won’t hold my breath. I’ll post their response when I get it.