My Bike

I had the Retroglide for a total of two days before returning it to the store we purchased it from. It was a great bike and I like it even though I did return it. The cruiser was kind of a small glimpse into my inner personality. I liked it's look and the way the handle bars felt as I was..., well, cruising along.

The problem was that after we purchased the bike I became practical. The cruiser only had seven gears and it was a pretty heavy bike alone not to mention when hooked up with the Trailer. I rode it around our neighborhood the moment we brought it home even though it was a pretty cold day.  I realized with and with out the trailer attached, switching the gears made no difference. It wasn't getting any easier for me. I'm not saying that the cruiser is hard bike to ride, its not. It's just a different kind of bike than im used to. Not to mention I am pretty out of shape to begin with.

Justin called me Monday morning on his way home from work and said that he was going to go look at bikes for himself. This was my moment of truth. I was overwhelmed with nerves but I felt that I had to try and I told him about my concerns and asked if we could attempt to return the bike, or even exchange it. There was another bike that I found at the same store that I found the Retroglide at and I thought that it was a better purchase for me.

To make a long story a little bit shorter, we returned the Raleigh Retroglide and purchased another Raleigh, this one is a Venture 3.0. Its a great bike with twenty-one gears and a lot less weight to it. Plus, its pearl white, which is a choice color for me.

The guys at Healthy Habits were amazing. They helped Justin bring in the returning bike from his truck. They took the bike seat, the pedals and the grip handles from another bike and put them on this bike (because I thought that they looked better) and then tuned up the bike I now have. They were not rude or short because I had created more work for them to do they were a great group to do business with and I recommend them to any and everyone who are may be in the market of purchasing a bike.

We did not purchase the Burley Bee trailer because it was too expensive for our budget right now. Instead we settled on a nice option made from Instep. Yesterday, Justin put it together and we fitted the straps to Vada.

Today the weather was decent and Vada and I broke it all in. I cant imagine how I must have frustrated not only the guys at the bike shop but also Justin, but im glad that I spoke up. Without doubt this was a good choice for me.

Getting Ready to Ride

Last Summer Jasmine took over my bike. Her's had a flat tire not once but twice with in a weeks span and was already a bit too small for her. Since I was unable to ride mine with Vada, I just let her have it.

This year, however, I want to ride! So, I told Justin that I wanted a bike. I told him what I wanted and he began to research different brands and similar styles to what I had originally said, a beach cruiser.

Since I will need to be toting Vada with me it needs to be a bike with multiple speeds. We have been told by some bike experts that anything below a 7 speed just wont do. Another thing that was brought to our attention is that the bike seats are not a safe choice. Babies tend to fall asleep with the motion and then "flop" all over. Plus, if I were to ever fall over or get hit Vada would be the one who would take the majority of the impact. Can you imagine? I can't, it makes me sick. The safest thing I suppose would to just not ride a bike with a baby, period, but then you cant live your life fully sheltered either.

We have narrowed the bike choices down to these five. The first and second are in the run and I am having the hardest time choosing! Justin made sure that these would do for what I plan on doing with them... casual riding with some extra "luggage" and then he showed them to me, along with about a hundred others!

The Raleigh Retroglide 7 in Steel and Green

The Trek Pure Low Step in Cream Yellow

The Giant in Suede Black

The Giant in Pearl White (the same as above, just in a different color)

The Schwinn Midmoor in white

Again, the first two are my favorites and I am really leaning towards the first one. Yes, I will also have a basket on the front. How could I not?

We have been searching for trailers that would attach to the bike for Vada.  I want the trailer to look good with the bike as well as be the safest choice for Vada. So far, this is my favorite one... only  it's pretty expensive. Too expensive and I want to find one that's more affordable without cheapening it up and risking safety or it's comfortableness. 

The Burley Honey Bee Bike Trailer

Here's where you can help. I would really appreciate your input. Do you have experience with bike trailers? I personally, have never used one with Jasmine or with Kiliegh. In fact, I didn't ride with them at all.

I need a trailer that has a five point harness, for extra support in case Vada does fall asleep. We need to really protect her neck until we find out if she has atlantoaxial subluxation (AAI), which may be quite awhile until anything has been established in that regards. Plus, I really don't want her to fall asleep and not notice that she is having her own mosh session behind me. That would be bad!