teachermama

Good morning y'all! I hope I am allowed here, as of yet I solely dream of being a biker.

I have been wanting to buy myself a cruiser for probably 15 years, but as a single mom + public school teacher, money's always tight and better spent on my kids. Yesterday, someone told me that our local Walmart had a couple women's cruisers marked on clearance for $80 or so. I clearly had been talking about this pipe dream for a long time and she wanted me to just get one and stop wishing I had one. I checked the app, and it said there were 4 in stock and were $13 as of today. That seemed too good to be true, but I bundled the baby and toddlers up and went at opening at 7:00 am. We bumbled back to the bike department, and almost immediately a store manager asked if he could help us. I showed him the app, and he laughed and laughed and laughed. He explained that the bike had been clearanced out a season or two ago, but occasionally they find leftover merchandise in the stock room, and have to inventory it, and the system has automatically decreased the price as time went on. Knowing this, he had bought the 4 bikes himself prior to opening. I asked if I could buy one, not for the $13 or even the $80, but for whatever retail had been. I had already gotten my kids excited about the prospect of the baby riding on a bike with me and me being able to ride with them, not slowly walking behind with a stroller. I know it sounds silly, but all 4 of us were giddy. After this last year, it seemed so happy and exciting and fun and was finally something we could do safely and together and enjoyably. Mr. Walmart laughed and said no, he would not sell one to me, I could check Craigslist or Marketplace but he planned to mark them up from the original retail.

So, I started looking and looking. And they are not in stock anywhere! Of course now that I've bitten the bullet and am ready to splurge on myself, they aren't in stock or won't ship until mid-summer. An acquaintance suggested sixthreezero.com, but they are a little more than I'd like to spend.

I'll be honest - I want a cute one. I have lusted after this for so long, I want a bright pastel with a cute basket + a rear plate. I'd love white/cream wheels, or something not black/standard?. I feel like if I'm going to finally spend this money and treat myself, I should get one I want. I've looked extensively at Walmart and Target, and everything that meets my hopes is not in stock anywhere I can find, and isn't eligible for delivery or online ordering. I was shocked that even Amazon doesn't seem to have anything.

Ideally, I would have one within a week, prior to our first vacation to Maine to visit my parents in almost 3 years. This will never be used for anything super intensive. My kids are little and I am out of shape. It'll be used on asphalt/sidewalks, and for little jaunts around town with my daughters.

I have had this one bookmarked for years, it is everything I envision and dream of (and out of stock everywhere I can see)- Huffy Nel Lusso Cruiser

I have looked at these that are in-stock, but have no way of knowing how long they would take to ship or if they're even good quality / reliable.
- huffy yellow cruiser at wal mart
- huffy woodhaven cruiser at huffy website
- Schwinn women's lulu at target (but i don't really like how it looks...)

I can't find a reliable certainty about either company's shipping process/timeline.

I thought maybe someone here might be able to point me in the right direction, let me know if I am missing another retailer in my low budget price point, ideally with something like Prime shipping or the opportunity to pick up in store. I found a couple potential ones at Target, but none in-stock anywhere I could find.

(if it matters, I'm in Maryland. I'd happily drive to VA/WV/PA or anywhere within a couple hours.)

I appreciate anyone who's been patient enough to read any of this. Thanks for letting me into your community, hopefully one day soon I can be a bicyclist haha.
I know I'm being bratty. I want a cute one, and now I want it ASAP because I've gotten my kids and myself super excited for it. I want to go outside and be present and enjoy the spring and my kids and I am so sorry I'm the most annoying person. Please be kind if you have any suggestions or know where I could find one, or know from experience that Huffy ships 2 day priority or something haha.