A Continental is a great bike to ride around the neighborhood. Saw one in Craigslist in my size for $10 and couldn't resist, this was the bike I wanted as a kid. It's a very comfortable ride if you ask me. And my point was its really cheap to play with old bikes given the infinite supply of them in yard sales and thrift stores. Total investment in this is about $36 and some parts from the parts bin to get it into its current condition.

$10 bike
$20 tubes and tires
$5 cables and housing
$1 wheels, front brake, rear derailler



Another $12 in parts from guys on the vintage forum will get the front chainring and derailler working again. So then I will have $48 invested.