OT Gotta Love Craigslist and Ex-Wives

As if I don't have enough junk I like to peruse the free section on Craigslist.  I have gotten a lot of good things that way, including the cool cruiser bike I talked about recently.  This time I saw an ad for another bike, a mountain bike, so I sent an email saying that I would love to have it if it was still available and I could pick it up anytime.
It's kind of felt like I won the lottery when I got the call saying I could come get it.  Of course there is always a risk there.  With no picture in the ad I could be picking up a pile of junk but that's the risk I am willing to take.  If it's really bad I could always put my own ad on Craigslist and get rid of it.  People love free things.  Nothing to lose except the gas going to pick it up.  And this guy was pretty far away.
So I get there, a very nice in a very nice neighborhood.  The guy was waiting for me and went to get the bike.  It was beautiful.  Not very old at all.  The only thing wrong with it was the tires were flat, one of the wheels needed replacing and the seat have a few tears.  He said it had sat in his shed for a long time and it was his ex wife's and he wanted to get rid of it.  Probably wanted to remove all traces of her from his life from the sounds of it.
So I packed it up and brought it home.  I found someone who works on bikes and has a lot of used parts and brought the bike there and for $15 he replaced the wheels (the tubes were fine, just flat from sitting so long) and for another $10 he put on a rear rack with a basket.  He also threw in a bottle cage.  I bought a new gel seat cover for $15 so for $40 I got a great bike.  I wasn't sure if I was going to try to sell it or keep it so I took it out for a ride and I just love it.  It is a pretty good brand, nicer then the other two I have and it shifts great.  I hardly had to change the gears and it even made going uphill easier then my other bike.  So I think I'm gong to have to keep it and use it for my main bike now.  I just loved riding it, more then the other bikes.  
So, here is my free bike.

Very cool!  I'm a big fan of Freecycle... and have given and received many items from it. 

I love Freecycle, too.  What I love is no matter what, if I find that I need something I can put an ad up there and someone, somewhere has one laying around that they don't use.  And I find that there is always someone looking for something that I don't need anymore.

I have found that people will take pretty much anything.  I had a deck that was 20x40 and was FULL.  At the end of it all (after posting exclusively on FC) I had a shoebox left of stuff to get rid of, but I'd rather do it that way than throw it out!

Nice nwheels,but for *Me*,I wouldn't consider it free. If I could get on it right then and ride it,as is,it would be free.

If I had to put $40.00 into it before I could use it then I would consider it cost me $40.00,but that is still a great price for a greal looking bike. You have racked up on bikes lately havent you,lol?

Can you say transfer addiction?  lol, I have 3 now.  I had 2 others but I sold them and then got two more.  The other one really was free.  I didn't need to do a thing to that one and this one really was only $15 to get it rideable but I threw in the other $25 worth of stuff to make in more convenient and comfortable.  The thing is, I could probably sell it now for at least $75, the same with the other one but I probably will keep them both for a while.
My third bike I got for $50, brand new.  I put another $65 into it to make it fit me better and to have a basket and bike computer.  I could probably sell that for about $100 but I would take the bike computer off and use it for the new bike, so I would only be about $5 ahead but I really wasn't looking to make a profit so it doesn't really matter.
Or I may wind up keeping all three for a while.  I like being able to choose which bike to ride and it is a different experience depending on what I choose.  I must get bored easily.
I am also thinking of selling all three and investing in a really quality bike.  Just seeing the difference it makes in riding a bike that is a bit higher end makes me think it may be worth it to get a nice bike.  Just dreaming right now.
Oh well, I guess there are worse things to be addicted to.  I always use to say that if there was a chance I could become addicted to something I would, except house cleaning and exercise.  I guess I can cross exercise off that list now.

In terms of additiction, I think you did pretty well.  This might even be your next business.  LOL.  Have a great day deciding which bike to ride.  I do the same with my ponies although they both NEED to be driven everyday.

Nice bike!