My wife bought me a cellphone to carry with me when I ride. That was her excuse; she tries to get me to take it with me at other times but I really can't stand the thing. I do take it with me on long rides, though.

I bought my soon-to-be stepdaughter(will be 10) a Giant mtx-225 bike for her birthday, even though it's not until July. I'm putting road tires on it for some extra speed and I'll probably take the water bottle off; it's on the underside of the tube. And I'll get her a bell. I wanted to buy my soon to be 5 yr. old granddaughter this cool-looking cruiser bike with what looks like 4" tires but my wife said she just got a bike. I'm thinking "so?" this bike is way cool and she'd be the only kid around with one. Maybe for Christmas, then.

My master plan is to have everybody on decent bikes. My stepdaughter has four daughters so the bikes can be passed down.

Meanwhile, the N + 1 rule is weighing heavily upon me. My justification is that it'll be a multi-purpose bike: commuter, grocery run, fixie.