2.9.10

me and my gazelle

Settling into Debrecen has seemed like a constant panic to find a bicycle. I feel like without a bicycle, I can do nothing. But with a bicycle, I can do everything. Of course this is not exactly the case, but being without a bicycle does extremely limit what I can do and where I can go. Plus, it plays a role on me psychologically by making me a bit depressed.

Its hard to look in any one direction in this city without seeing someone riding a bike. Where were all of these bikes coming from!? I tried all of the 2 bike shops that I heard about in this town, and no used market. I tried a Hungarian craigslist-esq website, which was promising, but figuring out what the hell I was doing and communicating with people was a failure... ( With the help of google translate, I told one guy that I would come by his place at 3:00PM to check out a bike. 3 text messages and 2 hours later, I hear back "no Debrecen today"... WTF, mate! )

Finally, I approach the local BMX gang... talk about desperation. They point me in the direction of another shop. This shop was legit. Yes, they sold a bunch of crap, but the owner was super friendly. I got a used bike just like I was looking for.
It's a Gazelle. An old bike (circa 1950s ?) from the Netherlands... pretty bad ass! The price wasn't too bad... 15,000 HUF ($67) which included a U-lock.
O ya... and that front light is a real, working dynamo! With the flip of a switch, when the front wheel turns, it lights up!

So that bike shop was also a ski/snowboard shop and the owner organizes tours to surrounding ski resorts around Europe. He invited me to tag along for dirt cheap. Looks like I might already have some winter plans.

BA - out

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