Foo - Help me spend my tax refund

(I won't totally hijack the voices in slvoid's head)

So yeah, did my taxes today -- gonna be a nice refund. <cousin eddie>real nice.

You get to help me spend it!

Here are the parameters:
1) I want to get my parents riding. They're both in their 60s, and really, tooling around the neighborhood is about all they'll do. I need one bike for Mom, and one for Dad.
2) C. points at every tandem she sees.
3) I need something to reward myself after my marquee events this year, Triple Bypass and Hotter'n'Hell. --The reward will be in the form of an upgrade to one of the bikes below. (The orange bike currently has a black Toupe)

I'd like one option for each. It's that nice a refund

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/432949928_ff6c5a0739.jpghttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/103/297893887_d9e9679404.jpg
Ready, set, go!

1) Who is "C" and why does this person point at tandems?
2) Which of the two has true full DA? <curious Vega look>

thats hard to decide

1) Who is "C" and why does this person point at tandems?
2) Which of the two has true full DA? <curious Vega look>

1) C. is the girlfriend. She's getting into riding, and for some reason wants to try riding tandems...

2) Neither. I'm a Campy guy :D

can you rent one to try it before you buy it before you jump into one????

1) Then do consider tandem, as she is honestly interested in cyling with you at all <smackin' SD across his helmet>
2) Then settle only for Record. <serious Vega look>

"Settle" and "Record" don't belong in the same sentence. :p

S.dex, I don't know what you should get, but I just wanted to say that your Blue is looking really nice. :beer:

why the blue or the ionic good price????

"Settle" and "Record" don't belong in the same sentence. :p

S.dex, I don't know what you should get, but I just wanted to say that your Blue is looking really nice. :beer:
Baybuh. Check the sentence construction. I holds me some Record in high esteem. I just happens to prefer me some DA. Don't like the thumb-shiftin' thang. <shudder> Just my thumbs.

can you rent one to try it before you buy it before you jump into one????

Yup, that's the plan, but I can see having something like this just for fun:

http://oswaldcycleworks.com/shangTand04_3.jpg

1) Then do consider tandem, as she is honestly interested in cyling with you at all <smackin' SD across his helmet>
2) Then settle only for Record. <serious Vega look>

The Blue has 2003 Record, so check. The Ionic has a mix of Veloce and Centaur, so hmmm. Maybe the Blue gets new Record and the Ionic gets the 2003 Record, and the Veloce and Centaur go to ebay er somethin....

i agree that does look like fun

Check this, then. :D

anything with cannondale on it is always fun had a hard tail cd mtn bike they are nice

Still made in USofA. At least the CAAD's. :o

Where do your parents live, superdex? More specifically, what kind of climate & terrain? Are there any health issues?

Where do your parents live, superdex? More specifically, what kind of climate & terrain? Are there any health issues?

They're in Riverside, CA (SoCal); neither are terribly active, and dad has diabetes and is on blood pressure meds. I can see something like a pair of Elektra Townies or even <gasp> the Trek Lime....

So my mom is 58, has fibromyalgia and neuropathy, and she recently visited. I don't have a car and neither does my bro, so I set her up with a little 3 speed. We went everywhere by bike and public transit (where we could bring the bikes.) It worked well, but having to get up onto and down from the saddle was a major issue. We both agreed that there was an Electra Townie in her biking future for sure. (She actually wants to ride more.) I think that's a good direction to go in for your parents. My mother also completely fell in love with the whole pannier/rack concept. She thought it was much more fun to not be carrying anything on her body, yet still be able to haul all her mom stuff around.

The helmet, on the other hand, only lasted 2 miles. Meh, she's a grown up, and I did observe that motorists were very kind to the slow, gray-haired lady on the 3 speed who walked her bike up the hills. She borrowed a jaunty cycling hat my housemate's bike messenger boyfriend left on his last visit and blithely followed me all over Portland, even riding in heavy traffic. I was surprised at her serenity. She responded, "Oh, I knew you'd never let anything happen to me." :eek: That's my mommy...

Seriously, though, I think the whole endeavor would have been easier on a crank-forward bike.

yup, I think that's right where my parents are. I don't see either of them swinging legs over anything, so being able to straddle a Townie (or similar; K2 makes some cruisers that are nice) is a big attraction. That and I can totally see my mom riding a bike with pink flames and streamers :D --If only they were close enough I could ride with them :(

Don't get a bike, get a singing fish. You can't go wrong with a singing fish.

I would suggest finding a place that rents tandems first to get the experience. Some couples prefer to ride together except with solo bikes. IMHO, if she is just getting into cycling she needs her own bike first.

Funny you should start this thread, on the weekend I just (finally) got my 2004 tax refund.

10k, and I'm spoiling myself by buying a new mouse. I wish you well with your new toy (and I don't begrudge you), but for me the money sits in my bank or goes to take a whack off my mortgage. Although I am considering buying a lump of gold and burying it somewhere (seriously).

Funny you should start this thread, on the weekend I just (finally) got my 2004 tax refund.

10k, and I'm spoiling myself by buying a new mouse. I wish you well with your new toy (and I don't begrudge you), but for me the money sits in my bank or goes to take a whack off my mortgage. Although I am considering buying a lump of gold and burying it somewhere (seriously).

A new mouse? Is the mouse gold?

Why are you only just getting your 2004 refund? Are you getting interest on that? Answer any more questions which you think should be answered.

East Hill

IMHO, if she is just getting into cycling she needs her own bike first.

She bought a Dolce Comp in December, and is really liking riding. But yeah, definitely renting one first....

A new mouse? Is the mouse gold?

Why are you only just getting your 2004 refund? Are you getting interest on that? Answer any more questions which you think should be answered.

East Hill
They bloody well better give me interest on it, my colleagues tell me they do. That's the Dutch tax system, foreigners can sometimes be unlucky. All our stuff goes to one office where I assume they take their time. I filed it a year and a half ago, what do you do.

Now time to file my 2005 return, maybe I'll see dollar one of that in 2010 if I'm lucky.

Just a normal plastic mouse silly!

Thinking about where I'd bury my gold. Probably best somewhere high up, I'll want to recover it when the GW chaos sets in and the world is flooded. Hmm, maybe a good idea to bury it with some guns too, I'll need them to protect myself from the hysterical anarchy that will be raging all around me. Oh, and a jar of Marmite too I guess.

They bloody well better give me interest on it, my colleagues tell me they do. That's the Dutch tax system, foreigners can sometimes be unlucky. All our stuff goes to one office where I assume they take their time. I filed it a year and a half ago, what do you do.

Now time to file my 2005 return, maybe I'll see dollar one of that in 2010 if I'm lucky.

Just a normal plastic mouse silly!

Thinking about where I'd bury my gold. Probably best somewhere high up, I'll want to recover it when the GW chaos sets in and the world is flooded. Hmm, maybe a good idea to bury it with some guns too, I'll need them to protect myself from the hysterical anarchy that will be raging all around me. Oh, and a jar of Marmite too I guess.

Are you purchasing this house in The Netherlands? Would not GW wash over your investment? I would suggest somewhere like Noflen, or Wichtrach, where one of my husband's distant relatives is in charge of "Population protection and security". I suspect that any of my husband's relatives would be quite accurate.

I think a jar of marmite would be an excellent choice. Perhaps a couple of jars of marmite would be better. How big a lump of gold?

Back to the OP.

I think I would check out the local CL for a mixte for mom. I'm partial to those mixtes. Dad, well whatever he likes, probably some sort of comfort bike--but he could possibly like a mixte as well. Get a tandem. Go for the Ionic. If you have any money left, a beer for everyone in Foo who has helped with this difficult decision.

East Hill

small correction, I already own the Ionic and the Blue --I'm soliciting ideas for suitable upgrades :) --The wheels are prime candidates; The Ionic has Velocity Aeroheads/Fusion hubs, and the Blue has Neuvation R28 SL2s. Springing for some nice wheels is a definite option....

Mixte, eh? hmmm <goes a-lookin>

Are you purchasing this house in The Netherlands? Would not GW wash over your investment? I would suggest somewhere like Noflen, or Wichtrach, where one of my husband's distant relatives is in charge of "Population protection and security". I suspect that any of my husband's relatives would be quite accurate.

I think a jar of marmite would be an excellent choice. Perhaps a couple of jars of marmite would be better. How big a lump of gold?

East Hill
I already have one place in UK and one in Holland. I don't live in either one. This closest thing I have to a permanent home is Whitey, my car. I've actually already decided that I'm better off putting money into my UK place for now, just in case this country does go underwater - my place here is well below sea level :D

Nah, probably won't buy gold just now. Will need money to live until next job. Once that rolls in I'll buy a lump up gold to bury. Whatever size I can afford.

I have pirate urges, I don't know why but I just feel this need to bury treasure.

small correction, I already own the Ionic and the Blue

Oh, sorry...that's what happens when threads go a' wanderin' in Foo.


Springing for some nice wheels is a definite option....

One of the easiest ways to upgrade :D .


Mixte, eh? hmmm <goes a-lookin>

Your mum would probably love a mixte. They don't have the dreaded 'ladies loop', but they do have slanting twin toptubes which make it easy for less agile people to get on the bike. Or in my case, allow the less tall to own bikes which don't qualify as miniatures.

East Hill

a tandem huh superdex?:p

a tandem huh superdex?:p


jealous?

oohhhh a tandem how sweet!! :)

jealous?
humm let me think..






























No.












:p

I couldn't honestly ride a tandem with my boyfriend. We're both too crazy and want to control situations all the time :) It would spell disaster for us both. :)

Not sure how to tell you to spend your tax return. What about a weekend getaway with the bikes?? :)

What about a weekend getaway with the bikes?? :)

Already did that couple weekends ago (Moab) ... And knowing your boyfriend, it'd have to be some singlespeed tandem with big moustache bars and knobbies. --not that there's anything wrong with that

Already did that couple weekends ago (Moab) ... And knowing your boyfriend, it'd have to be some singlespeed tandem with big moustache bars and knobbies. --not that there's anything wrong with that

:lol: Yeah see, thats why I say NO WAY on the tandem, I would die!!! :D ;) I rather inflict my own pain on myself!! :)

Maybe I'm being stupid here - but why the heck would you ever put your parents on road bikes.

TG, right now they don't exercise, and I want them to live a little longer. Getting them on bikes if probably my best bet. I do fear that the bikes would get used about twice a year, but I have hope. Especially if they're something easy to ride (ala a Townie). That being said, anyone know if something like a Townie will buckle under my dad's 6'2", 260ish frame?

TG, right now they don't exercise, and I want them to live a little longer. Getting them on bikes if probably my best bet. I do fear that the bikes would get used about twice a year, but I have hope. Especially if they're something easy to ride (ala a Townie). That being said, anyone know if something like a Townie will buckle under my dad's 6'2", 260ish frame?
Oh - I don't argue that a "bike" is a good idea. I'm arguing in regards to the selection of bikes.

They really need to be on bikes that provide a smooth ride. And depending upon their strength, balance or prone to something that might de-abilitate them in any manner while on the bike - one may even want to loook at something like a trike.

I hear ya--

well, they're both very capable. And knowing my dad, he'd probably look at a trike as some sort of insult to his physical condition (he's prideful in strange ways). Heck, I imagine my mom would be the one who'd actively use it. Maybe I start with her and get my dad involved through a little bit of bike envy ....