It seemed like such a simple idea at the time: I'd buy a cheap bike and ride to work whenever possible. I'd get fresh air, exercise, and a tan, and most importantly I'd save money on gas (because I'm a cheapskate and hate paying $3.00 per gallon regardless of whether I can afford it).

So, I went to Happy Fun Land - what we call Wal-Mart when we want to antagonize the kids - and picked up their $80 generic mountain bike. In short, that lasted for a grand total of two (2) round trips to work before a broken chain ended my patience with its mechanical problems.

Wal-Mart kindly allowed me to exchange that lame horse for a slightly more expensive and much nicer Schwinn. I rode it to work exactly once before getting a flat tire.

It's the little things, really. Chains are easy to fix and cheap to replace, and flat tires aren't a big deal, but as of today I've spend about $50 per ride and I still don't currently have a working bike. Maybe some of us are just meant to drive.