Oh man, we have a bike infestation at this house.

I've got my ol-trusty 1998 Trek 800 mountain bike. Then there's the new hotness, my '05 Burley McKenzie. I just recently took on a project bike, a 1970-something Schwinn Suburban. My husband brings one bike to the relationship, a sweet 1993 Schwinn Moab (one of the last decent Schwinns).

The Burley is for going "zooom." The Trek is for abuse riding and a hell of a workout. The Schwinn Suburban is going to be an eccentric and deliberately ugly beater bike, and should end up being an even better workout than the Trek, as it is heavier by a little bit and is a 5-speed. It's got fenders, a dynamo and lights, and a cargo rack, so it will be a fun inner-city runabout.

My husband's bike hasn't seen much service in a few years, but he used to do some trails with it. He's a mountain goat--he likes to climb and he likes to rocket back down. I can tell you that his old bike is a lot of fun for urban adventuring. It's fairly lightweight for a steel framed mountain bike, and with its low standover height and front shocks, you can send it sailing over curbs, potholes, and road debris. It's a very responsive, agile bike--you can whip it up to a good speed without much effort, and if you are careful with the pedals, you can run tight corners at good speed.

You can see who is the bike dork in this relationship. If there's a rusty old chain marinating in solvent in a coffee can on the kitchen counter, it's my fault. If the lawn gets 1' tall because it's too hot to mow (but not to hot to bike), it's my fault.