I know it's a cliche line and there have, and will be, innumerable times in my life when more will have been lost due to my hesitation to act, and would probably make far more worthy content for a blog post but this one is still stinging so I'm gonna use it up while I'm still so darn annoyed with myself!
Yesterday I ventured out to my favorite store, (The local recycle and Dump Shop) where I often find some great bargains, (Most of the bikes I own came from there).
I hadn't been for a while so I was kind of hopeful there'd be some treasure...
Well there certainly was some treasure! The first thing that caught my eye as I entered were some very wide alloy handle bars, cruiser style! Just what I need for my Xtracycle... Of course the bars were attached to a bike, but not just any bike... It was an electric bike... But not just any electric bike... It was an Ezee Cadence.... (Click here for images)
See the Ezee Web Page
Until now I had been fairly committed to cycling without any motorized assistance but I've often wondered if an electric assist bike would enable me to reduce my car miles even further... It's pretty hot where I live and cycling always means that I turn up to places hot and sweaty! I am also having to cart two kids and their various paraphernalia along.... So 'why look a gift horse in the mouth?' An electric assist bike could be just what I need.
Of course I had no idea what an 'Ezee Cadence' was until I eventually looked it up on the internet at the end of the day, having already returned to the Tip Shop three times to admire the bike! It turned out that this is a high level electric bike with the best of bicycle components! Not just some battery operated imitation of a bicycle. The rear hub has an internal 7 speed gearbox and internal brakes! The front wheel contains a ' 250W Brushless DC hub motor with planetary gears'! This bike had so much gear on it I that I could use it wouldn't matter if the battery and electric motor were stuffed I would still have a bunch of really useful stuff that would be ideal for building my Xtracycle into a really nice ride! To quote the Police mechanic from Mad Max "... She's The Ducks Nuts!"
On the second visit I asked how much and not yet having any knowledge of the value of the bike I was dismayed to find that they wanted $200! I never have that much money lying around and I've just returned from a very expensive trip away, but I really wanted that bike! At the time I didn't realize what a bargain this was and could only feel bad about wanting to spend so much money when we are struggling to pay our bills! I spent the whole rest of the day deliberating about getting some money from somewhere (Our rainy day savings...The car Rego money actually)
It usually takes me a very long time to decide to buy something. I have waited years before purchasing something new (Like the bike I purchased two years ago, which never lived up to my expectations) and I normally don't have any trouble waiting for the desire to pass rather than spend money that I technically don't really have. In the long run I rarely feel as though I've missed out on anything at all. To be honest once the hype has subsided, most of the time the product I want fails to meet my expectation or even satisfy the original, desire so I'm generally pretty happy going without. Since I'm willing to wait a while the consumer society usually takes care of supply. I remember when animal liberation made fur coats very un-popular. The Opp Shops were struggling to sell them for years! If a fur coat was something you really wanted you could have had a choice from half a dozen or so at about $20 each. Of course people weren't buying them because it had become very unpopular to be seen wearing endangered species. Fur had gone out of fashion.
I remember when our family made the big decision to buy a VCR player/recorder. We had to pay $300 for a years membership at the video library and then pay for the videos on top of that! And there was only a selection of about 15 or so films to choose from! I can't remember how many times we watched Cabaret! Now people can't give them away!
It happens with just about everything! Because I'm willing to wait, things usually turn up eventually and I always seem to have what I need. However, when that special thing I've been waiting for appears I must be prepared to act. Seize the opportunity and act decisively!
Being naturally hesitant to spend money (OK I'm pretty tight!) my frugality occasionally causes me to miss out on the deal of a lifetime... Sadly I believe this was such an occasion!
Last night, after reading up on the Ezee bikes and being very impressed with what I discovered about the Cadence model I had resolved that this was a great deal! First thing in the morning I would go and I would purchase this bike... My head filled with all the potential it had for improving my mobility... and introducing me into the world of electronic transportation and power generation. (It occurred to me that I should find ways of charging the battery using solar or wind... That would be cool!) I had switched, as usual, from hesitant and guarded to completely obsessed in just a few ambivalent hours! This is very familiar territory for me.
This morning just after the Tip Shop had opened I was there! Cash in hand, ready and totally committed to buying the bike of my very recent dreams.
Just as I could have predicted and every other occasion where I had failed to act decisively had proven to me. The Bike was gone! It was SOLD in the half hour between closing time and when I'd been there the night before!
Yesterday I ventured out to my favorite store, (The local recycle and Dump Shop) where I often find some great bargains, (Most of the bikes I own came from there).
I hadn't been for a while so I was kind of hopeful there'd be some treasure...
Well there certainly was some treasure! The first thing that caught my eye as I entered were some very wide alloy handle bars, cruiser style! Just what I need for my Xtracycle... Of course the bars were attached to a bike, but not just any bike... It was an electric bike... But not just any electric bike... It was an Ezee Cadence.... (Click here for images)
See the Ezee Web Page
Until now I had been fairly committed to cycling without any motorized assistance but I've often wondered if an electric assist bike would enable me to reduce my car miles even further... It's pretty hot where I live and cycling always means that I turn up to places hot and sweaty! I am also having to cart two kids and their various paraphernalia along.... So 'why look a gift horse in the mouth?' An electric assist bike could be just what I need.
Of course I had no idea what an 'Ezee Cadence' was until I eventually looked it up on the internet at the end of the day, having already returned to the Tip Shop three times to admire the bike! It turned out that this is a high level electric bike with the best of bicycle components! Not just some battery operated imitation of a bicycle. The rear hub has an internal 7 speed gearbox and internal brakes! The front wheel contains a ' 250W Brushless DC hub motor with planetary gears'! This bike had so much gear on it I that I could use it wouldn't matter if the battery and electric motor were stuffed I would still have a bunch of really useful stuff that would be ideal for building my Xtracycle into a really nice ride! To quote the Police mechanic from Mad Max "... She's The Ducks Nuts!"
On the second visit I asked how much and not yet having any knowledge of the value of the bike I was dismayed to find that they wanted $200! I never have that much money lying around and I've just returned from a very expensive trip away, but I really wanted that bike! At the time I didn't realize what a bargain this was and could only feel bad about wanting to spend so much money when we are struggling to pay our bills! I spent the whole rest of the day deliberating about getting some money from somewhere (
It usually takes me a very long time to decide to buy something. I have waited years before purchasing something new (Like the bike I purchased two years ago, which never lived up to my expectations) and I normally don't have any trouble waiting for the desire to pass rather than spend money that I technically don't really have. In the long run I rarely feel as though I've missed out on anything at all. To be honest once the hype has subsided, most of the time the product I want fails to meet my expectation or even satisfy the original, desire so I'm generally pretty happy going without. Since I'm willing to wait a while the consumer society usually takes care of supply. I remember when animal liberation made fur coats very un-popular. The Opp Shops were struggling to sell them for years! If a fur coat was something you really wanted you could have had a choice from half a dozen or so at about $20 each. Of course people weren't buying them because it had become very unpopular to be seen wearing endangered species. Fur had gone out of fashion.
I remember when our family made the big decision to buy a VCR player/recorder. We had to pay $300 for a years membership at the video library and then pay for the videos on top of that! And there was only a selection of about 15 or so films to choose from! I can't remember how many times we watched Cabaret! Now people can't give them away!
It happens with just about everything! Because I'm willing to wait, things usually turn up eventually and I always seem to have what I need. However, when that special thing I've been waiting for appears I must be prepared to act. Seize the opportunity and act decisively!
Being naturally hesitant to spend money (OK I'm pretty tight!) my frugality occasionally causes me to miss out on the deal of a lifetime... Sadly I believe this was such an occasion!
Last night, after reading up on the Ezee bikes and being very impressed with what I discovered about the Cadence model I had resolved that this was a great deal! First thing in the morning I would go and I would purchase this bike... My head filled with all the potential it had for improving my mobility... and introducing me into the world of electronic transportation and power generation. (It occurred to me that I should find ways of charging the battery using solar or wind... That would be cool!) I had switched, as usual, from hesitant and guarded to completely obsessed in just a few ambivalent hours! This is very familiar territory for me.
This morning just after the Tip Shop had opened I was there! Cash in hand, ready and totally committed to buying the bike of my very recent dreams.
Just as I could have predicted and every other occasion where I had failed to act decisively had proven to me. The Bike was gone! It was SOLD in the half hour between closing time and when I'd been there the night before!
Carpe Dium!
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