Friday

Bike Speedometer Finally Hits 5000.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I really enjoy riding my bicycle.

My old bike had an old speedometer that had reached over 4000 miles when it suddenly refused to work any more. I guess my legs and brain were somehow connected to that speedometer, because when it quit, they wanted to quit. I hadn't realized how much pride I was taking in clocking a certain number of miles each time I took the bike out for a ride.

Deciding that it was time for a new bike anyway, I spent a few days looking around town for a replacement. I'm getting up there in years so I wasn't out to attract attention with my new wheels. I had 3 requirements; coaster brakes, rear-mounted baskets for carrying stuff, and a speedometer. If I could get a 3-speed model, all the better.

I was elated with the bike I purchased. It didn't come with baskets, but the dealer was happy to sell me a set and mount them for free. I was ready to fly.

The only problem was, the new speedometer didn't work worth beans. I tried and tried to set it and it would get out of kilter with the first ride. Besides, it had all kinds of other stuff programed into it that I didn't want at all. Was it too much to ask to have a speedometer just like my old one?

Apparently it was, because I searched our town high and low. Luckily, this was before gas prices rose to over $4 a gallon. Anyway, I had just about given up when I remembered buying a wristwatch from Amazon.com for my husband's birthday one time.
I had been surprised then to find that they didn't just sell books, but were kind of a middle man for all sorts of things.

I rushed to the computer and soon brought up a picture of a gorgeous little speedometer exactly like the one I had used on my old bike for years. It goes without saying, (but I'll say it anyway,) I had that thing ordered before the day was over.

It arrived quickly, and not only was it exactly like my old speedometer, but I was able to turn it ahead to where my old one left off so I wouldn't have to feel like I was starting all over again. And, guess what--today it hit the 5000-mile mark.

I can tell you from experience that "new and modern" doesn't mean a thing to me. If something works the way I want it to, I'll take old-fashioned, any day.

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