We decided that we really need to get rid of our nice, soft, cushy cruising bikes because although they may fit on the boat (outside), they certainly won’t fit in the dinghy when we want to bring them ashore. We have been looking at small folding bikes, done some research, & gotten opinions so we knew what we wanted. So, when we sent out the list of what we still need to the racing/cruising fleet at MBYC, Lorraine told us that she had 2 Dahon Folding Bikes that she has had for years. We went to look at them and decided that they were the right bikes and we bought them. We took them to the Mission Beach Boardwalk to test them out. Oh, they were horrid! Hard seats, handle bars too low. Oh, so sad. What are we going to do? We really need bikes when we go onshore because I can’t walk very far on my old knees. How will we see the sights in the towns that we visit? How will we shop for groceries?
We talked to Ken Wild who owns a bike like these and rides it all over Mission Bay. He suggested that we inflate the tires and put our old cruiser seats onto the folding bikes. We followed his advice and…voila! They work really well. We have been riding them around to get used to them and try not to notice when people point and stare. They are definitely NOT cruisers, but they will work for what we need. Hurray! Another problem solved.