the solution i've thought of is this:
i have a bike that i bought at Value Village for $20. it's a shwinn 10-speed... nearly as fast on flat ground as any 1000$ carbon fiber masterpiece, but looks like hell. rust on the rims, scratched paint+rust on the frame...
what would you think of buying a bike like mine and using that to get to the place where you can get on the mass transit?