With the perennial threads on how to buy a bike popping up everywhere, especially the advent of warmer weather, I thought I'd post
this link to my friend Sam's recent blog entry on that very topic.
It's very short, so it doesn't require a big time investment, but it covers most bases - used vs new, service and repair, the practical use of establishing a budget. I hope some here might find it useful.
And yes, that trike in the picture is his. The frame was custom built for him a couple or three decades ago, and he built it up from that. He used to be a bike mechanic, and has had all kinds of bikes, from an old penny-farthing high-wheeler to this trike.