Merry Christmas to me!

My boyfriend and I decided to buy each other bikes for Christmas. We are hoping we will get some exercise out of it (coinciding with New Year's Resolutions) and spend some time together enjoying life outside of a cubicle.

Neither of us had remembered riding bikes since maybe junior high. My very practical boyfriend tried out hybrid bikes, while I was focused on getting a comfy retro cruiser bike, preferably in lightweight aluminum and a decent number of speed options.

First I tried two very cute pastel Electra cruiser bikes, with white seats. The first was pink, in a 3-speed. But as I started to ride the bike, I realized there were no handbrakes. I thought, "How do I stop this thing?" And then I remembered my childhood pink one-speed Schwinn, and realized I merely had to kick the pedals backward.

Then I tried a 21-speed baby blue Townie with handbrakes. I thought the handlebars were oddly high up, but maybe the bike shop didn't realize they had to adjust it better for me.

Finally at another store, I tried a the Raleigh Retroglide 7, which had a very vintage look, with 7 speeds and a very comfy seat. My boyfriend opted for a used Marin bike.

But when then we realized that the bikes wouldn't both fit in the car, so we had to bike home from the store and drive back to fetch the car. Luckily there are some very pleasant bike trails nearby the Stanford campus.

Now all I need is a basket, streamers, and an ejection seat, and I can have my own Pee-Wee-mobile!