I don't hear comments from any friends or family about what I spend on bikes, nor do I tell them. They're FAR more likely to ask how far I ride, or if they live hereabouts, where I ride, and then they are astonished that I go that far (though it's probably pretty average around BF). My wife is okay with what I spend on bikes because I'm generally pretty responsible about it and also because bikes and working on bikes and riding bikes keep me sane.
A good bike may be expensive, but do you know what good a good therapist costs these days?
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"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."
"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles