thanks for the kinds posts I was kind of expecting teenager bashing from most of the posters since the average posting age here is likely higher than my age But the comments are great.

The reason for my mom's fear of bicycling is that she isn't very good at it herself (not that she's good at any sport). Moreover, when I was a kid, being the occasionally clumsy person that I am, got into a few 'minor' accidents where I flew over the handlebars or crashed etc

As for a bike right now - I have no bike :/ I got rid of the one I had a long long time ago (crappy xmart bike) and I've been stuck with rollerblades since.

I don't think I'll be able to convince my mom - I've bugged her/tried to reason with her too many times. I'm quite convinced she won't budge.

And yep, I know it's my mom's money - but I was hoping she'd be more understanding about this whole thing, recognize the fact that I really want to ride, and that I even got a job just so I could make money for a bike.

Right now..I think I have two options:

a) Get a second job, save every penny, and hope like mad I get $2000 by the end of summer (I have to quit working when school starts but with the crummy job market, it might be hard to find another job)

con: I miss out on ALL the summer biking and spend my summer toiling at low paying jobs.

b) Borrow some money from a couple close friends, buy the bike now (not necessarily a more pricey one..but a nice one nonetheless) and pay friends back later as money slowly drips in.

Oh, one more funny thing: She offered to pay for my car insurance for her car (cost: $900 cdn) on the condition that I don't ever buy a bike. That ticked me off! I told her I rather have a road bike than drive (my friends think I'm a ****** for that)