Warning. I bought a bike today. 

In celebration of the nice weather we had been having I decided to invest a bike. I did my compulsory craigslist search, found one that was in my price range and adorable and headed down to the financial district to pick it up.

What I had forgotten was the most important thing. I haven’t ridden a bike since 1986 and that one had brakes in the pedals.  As I clumsily made my way up John street I realized I might have a problem. Although the bike is cute, it’s very heavy and I couldn’t possibly carry it into the subway and it’s large and wouldn’t fit into a cab.

I was left with 2 options - 1. walk the bike almost three miles from the financial district to the east village or 2. abandon it on the street and take the subway home. My cheap gene intervened and said -Hey lazy, you just spent $300 bones on this bike, you’re pushing it, and push it I did.

2 hours later I arrived in the east village. A little worse for wear but still alive. I decided the only way to salvage the day was to treat myself to a cupcake (ok 2 cupcakes) and to take my new bike out for a spin.

I rode up and down through Tompkins Square Park for over an hour and totally realized that all the pain and aggravation had been worth it. I will say that I’m definitely out of practice and still am not totally comfortable with my hand brakes and almost ran over a dog, and 2 small children.

I am normally a pretty social gal and love nothing more than getting a shoutout from passing friends on the street. A word of warning to all those who do and don’t know me. If you see me on the bike and feel the need to acknowledge me- DON’T. I am easily distracted and can quickly go from coasting to running down innocent bystanders.

All in all a great day of bike riding and cupcakes. Can’t wait to take my new ride out for a real spin in central park and scare small dogs with my bell!

p.s. I’ve created a foursquare check in for my bike. It’s Jenny’s sweet ass ride but only I can check into it!