soddruntlestuntle
Wore out three sets of tires already!
Having recovered from the SNAFU that was my previous bicycle purchasing experience as chronicled here, I sat down and decided a different plan was necessary. So I brainstormed for a minute or two, and decided that the bike my wife needed was a ladies Collegiate-- classic Schwinn styling, but with a modern derailleur in place of that antediluvian Sturmey-Archer three-speed pain-in-the-butt. So I perused FB Marketplace and Craigslist and of course found bupkis here in the bicycle desert in which I reside. But I did find a tempting example on my local OfferUp page-- it was listed as a 1959 Collegiate (I know Schwinn didn't produce a Collegiate that year, but sure as hell, that's what the serial number stamped into the dropout says).
Nothing fancy, but seemingly a good, solid bike. The only problem was that the ad was posted eleven months ago. Nonetheless, I decided to try and contact the owner Wednesday morning to see if it was still available. He responded immediately in the affirmative. Great! Could I come look at it that afternoon? Sure. Super! What's your address? Silence.
So I waited for a response.
And waited.
And waited.
I finally messaged him again about four o'clock, saying that I was still interested if it was still available. I drove home from work a little disappointed, when he finally messaged me back with a phone number to text, oh, and he wasn't sure if he still had the Collegiate. So when I got home I texted him, indicating that I was still very much interested if he still had the bike. No response.
Finally, at almost 11:00 yesterday morning, he responded; said he'd been busy, but that I was welcome to come check out the bike if I was still interested, and here's the address. So we made plans for me to meet him at the shop where the bike was located. I arrived at the shop, in a part of town that can only be described as 'gritty'. But he wasn't there yet. So I cooled my heels out on the sidewalk, hoping he'd arrive before I got mugged. Finally a tall, skinny kid on a modern cruiser rolled up. My man. He climbed off without making any eye contact, and proceeded to start going behind a myriad of chain link gates, ostensibly looking for something. I assumed he was looking for the Collegiate. After about fifteen minutes he came over to where I was standing and informed me that apparently someone had tossed the bike out. Of course. But he DID have another old bike that I could have for FREE if I wanted, as an apology for his wasting my time. I figured sure, what's the worst that could happen, it certainly won't be another OH MY GOD ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS NOT AGAIN
Yes folks, another 24" Breeze. I think I'm cursed. I think I need to go back to collecting baseball cards, it's much less stressful.
Nothing fancy, but seemingly a good, solid bike. The only problem was that the ad was posted eleven months ago. Nonetheless, I decided to try and contact the owner Wednesday morning to see if it was still available. He responded immediately in the affirmative. Great! Could I come look at it that afternoon? Sure. Super! What's your address? Silence.
So I waited for a response.
And waited.
And waited.
I finally messaged him again about four o'clock, saying that I was still interested if it was still available. I drove home from work a little disappointed, when he finally messaged me back with a phone number to text, oh, and he wasn't sure if he still had the Collegiate. So when I got home I texted him, indicating that I was still very much interested if he still had the bike. No response.
Finally, at almost 11:00 yesterday morning, he responded; said he'd been busy, but that I was welcome to come check out the bike if I was still interested, and here's the address. So we made plans for me to meet him at the shop where the bike was located. I arrived at the shop, in a part of town that can only be described as 'gritty'. But he wasn't there yet. So I cooled my heels out on the sidewalk, hoping he'd arrive before I got mugged. Finally a tall, skinny kid on a modern cruiser rolled up. My man. He climbed off without making any eye contact, and proceeded to start going behind a myriad of chain link gates, ostensibly looking for something. I assumed he was looking for the Collegiate. After about fifteen minutes he came over to where I was standing and informed me that apparently someone had tossed the bike out. Of course. But he DID have another old bike that I could have for FREE if I wanted, as an apology for his wasting my time. I figured sure, what's the worst that could happen, it certainly won't be another OH MY GOD ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS NOT AGAIN
Yes folks, another 24" Breeze. I think I'm cursed. I think I need to go back to collecting baseball cards, it's much less stressful.
