My morning, as a sitcom ("Greenenders", with thanks to Pete)

[jack]

Some people have lives told in Shakespearean style. Bleak house. Austen. Saki. Anything. I have sitcom. Oh well :)

This will be represented as a rapid sequence of scene cuts, as I move from one bike shop to the other. Some humour will be evinced in repetition, some in breaking the repetition.

** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I see you have a selection. What's the difference between this £100 bike, and this £130 bike?
Him: *gormless look* It costs more. It has a, uuuhh, *looks at bike* better frame. And different coloured gears.
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: So, do you have any bikes less tall than I am for under £230 pounds?
Him: No.
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a town bike?
Him: *shocked look*
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a bike?
Him: I'm sorry sir, this is a hardware store.
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: Two all-beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun.
Him: I'm sorry sir, this is subway.
** series of shots of me muching through a sandwich looking tired **
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a town bike?
** long pan down ten meter long row of off-road bikes costing £300 **
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a town bike?
Him: Why are you late for work?
Me: Well, I was *going* to ride in...

*sigh* And all those 0.14s transitions took me half an hour of walking. At least I had a book and a plot to write. But I'm 5'10 or 5'11, I'm not *that* short.

I thought it might be as easy as last time. Where else should I go?

Comments

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Go out as a woman and you will be guaranteed to find bicycles that are too short for you and useless off-road.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

And they'll try and sell you pretty pink accessories when you ask them what kind of brakes it has.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

We could swap. I want a shorter non-off-road bike. And am ok with pink so long as the bike works :)

Do they really do that? I mean, surely most people at 20+ spending £100 on a bike might be ignorant, though that's equally insulting, but do *any* want pink frills? Other than Edith? :)

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Consider the huge number of undergraduates who come to Cambridge in order to set themselves up with a nice rich man and have babies and spend almost as much time saying "Laike aa maiy gud, hev yeu seeeeen the gayl in my staircase, she ac'sh'laaay hends in supervision work, hay unfeshionable" as they do in lectures. Yes, there are a plenty large number who want trendy accessories more than they want the brakes to actually work.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I suppose so. Oh well, I'm sure Darwin will make it all ok.

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Weird, I found a brilliant bike in the first shop I looked. (Townsends, on Chesterton Road). It's a Raleigh town bike and I <3 it lots.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

So did I[1]. Then, 6 months on, it crashed catastrophically and I looked *again* :)

[1] OK, I looked round some others first but just to get an idea.

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, that's hardly the bike's fault ;)

I just got a folding bike from Halfords, and ye gods is it hard to ride.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

A folding bike could be fun. Why is it so bad?

I will certainly try Townsends. I should have on my way out, but didn't think of it.

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Mini wheels and no gears.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Ah, ok. I'd almost like a compromise. I don't think I really need 18 gears, but I need more than 1...

The mini wheels is funny when you see someone big on them. But is good for train/bike combos, I guess?

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Yeah, foldability for teh win. I'd love a brompton, but hey, I'm not rich.

Having six gears suits me fine on my town bike, perfect for Cambridge -- even Castle Hill.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Are bromptons famously leet? I believe Mobbsy got one.

I mean, I *can* treat myself to something expensive if I want to, but since all I want is to move myself two miles in less than half an hour I don't really...

[satanicsocks.livejournal.com]

Bromptons are merely l33t cos they fold and have gears. IMHO. :) Oh, and are light enough as to be carryable, whereas my folding bike is a bit of a heavy bugger.

[mair_in_grenderich]

bromptons are lovely, yes.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

I will look there first when it's new bike time!