The Bike

Tags

cardio, century ride, communication, transportation

A few years ago, when life was still relatively normal, I wanted to do a century ride to raise money for cystic fibrosis. It was going to take place at Lake Tahoe. I had wanted to buy a new bike anyway and this was a great opportunity to do just that.

Me & My Lovely Bike

Well, when you train for a century ride (100 miles), your training hours quickly turn to training days. I was enjoying the training but my work schedule, at the time, did not afford me whole days or even half days, on a regular basis, to train.

So before too long it became obvious that I would not be able to participant in that year’s event.

I’ve always been a bit of a gym rat, normally I try to be there two to four times a week.   I like free weights, am very found of the Body Pump program, was once a fitness instructor and indoor cycling is my favorite cardio program.

Therefore, since the century ride, I’ve continued with my indoor cycling and every now and then I’ve been able to get out to a park or a trail for a real spin but not as often as I would have liked.

Fast forward to today – there’s no two ways to put it, things are very, very tough. So much so that I’ve had to sell things to eat.  A big problem with that is, I no longer have access to most of my things and the truth is, anyway, I’ve never spent a lot of my money on great things.

I do try to buy nice things (on Sale) when I buy but I then keep them as long as possible.  It has been a way to stretch funds.  ~Buy the good stuff on Sale!~  Cheap stuff doesn’t keep, usually, and you wind up spending more money when all is said and done.

Inexpensive, I love, Cheap, not so much.

It was more important to make sure my son had, a proper education, a safe environment, was properly clothed and fed, participated in extracurricular activities, ect. I use to say, “I always know where I am year round on Saturday morning – I’m on a court or a field.” And at night, I was watching him play in the band, play in the orchestra, act in the play…

The point being, I always thought the new sofa, for example, could wait. People first, most especially children first. So I don’t have a lot of really great things to sell but I do have my bike and it’s nice and in practically new condition. So I put it up for sale recently.

First, I spoke with one of the local bike shops, the guy at the shop said that they did not buy used bikes and no shops here (locally) did AND no they don’t have a board where I could post the sale. Umm. I know there’s a board, I’ve seen it and they seem to be pretty standard in bike shops to share happenings and to connect the biking community. But… Okay.  I leave.

While traveling recently (looking for a new home), another bike shop, out of the area, liked it and made me an offer but it was too low. I do understand that they need to make a profit on the re-sale but at this time I just can’t afford to give it away.

So, I do the obvious in order to get the best price, I list it online, but it is taking too long.  So I continue looking for other avenues as well. I hear there is a swap meet (flea market) on the other side of town but I have no way to get myself there. The travel expense is prohibitive and the fee to set up a booth most likely is also.

I’ve gotten a few bytes from my ad, however, I’ve listed a few other things recently and I know now that, for whatever reason, these ads attract the strange ones who have no intent of buying anything. (bad emails – pigsty@somemail.com, bad phone numbers – does anyone actually issue (NNN) 666-NNNN, the string you along emails – just looking for a pen pal, maybe??)

However, my favorite one, so far  this time, has been the first one I received demanding that I sell the bike for a stated bottom basement low price. If it wasn’t meant to be a demand, it sure read that way.  ‘Sell it for $xxx.00.’  That was all.

So, while looking for online organizations within the biking community to list my bike,  I run across another bike shop in my local area.  Not only are they local but they are an authorized dealer for the bike I own.  Cool!

Now before I tell you about that, I do want to say that another, a 3rd shop, in the  local area let me post my sale on their board and have been very nice, helpful and always welcome me back. I was there just the other day flushing out an answer for a potential buyer. So, much thanks to them.

Now, the dealer. The shop is apparently privately owned and the owner has his contact information out on the website.

So I wrote at 2:55 PM

Hello,

Do you buy used bikes and if not what is your best suggestion for selling a barely used bike quickly for a fair price?

I have a XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX Hybrid (purchased for a century ride, which I was unable to train for due to scheduling conflicts.) It has mostly been sitting / hanging up. I  love the bike, intended to keep it a while longer then move to a road bike. However, personal matters dictate that I sell some assets now. I am also willing to sell the carry rack,  either separately or packaged together.

It does not serve any current purpose to give it away or practically give it away, need a fair price.

Any suggestions / thoughts you have to offer will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

initials

HE wrote at 3:01 PM (from his iPad)

Are you the original owner, and do you have the bill of Sale?

I wrote at 4:15 PM

I am the original owner and I’m sure I could put my hands on the bill of sale, if really necessary. Why is that important?

HE wrote at 4:44 PM

It’s important to make sure it is not stolen.

I wrote at 5:14 PM

Okay. Well, definitely NOT STOLEN.

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your help.

=========================================

Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I definitely did not see that coming!

I don’t know what the shop owner had in mind, other than to offend me, certainly, he wasn’t grooming a potential customer and frankly, I felt offended.

Maybe he would need those documents for a purchase but he never communicated that.  He led by implying I might be a thief!

I wonder just how many bicycle owners actually have their original documents. (yes I really did keep them.)

thanks for listening ~ xxxx

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FloBot

Tags

health, progressive insurance

You know, I’m certainly no stranger to hard work, long hours, all-nighters and I’m sure many of you can relate as well, but yesterday I felt like FloBot.

Approximately 3 to 4 hours of sleep across two days and very little to eat catches up with you in a way I’ve never known before and I thought of FloBot.  Heck, I thought I was FloBot.

You have probably seen Flo, the insurance agent  on the Progressive insurance commercials.  Well one day FloBot is added to the staff and is doing a great job.  So Flo walks over, gives her a little hug and accidentally, on purpose, unplugs her.  FloBot without warning, of course, just stops in her tracks.

That’s just how I felt yesterday.   I was in the middle of things.  I wanted to accomplish things.  I was thinking, I was doing, I was writing I was fine then suddenly I’d realize my eyes were closed. ????  When did that happen, I was in the middle of a thought, a sip, a turn, a pen stroke.  What the?!?  Just like FloBot I just stopped.  Weird.

Thank goodness, I was able to get a little sleep last night.  Who knew sleep was sooo  good!  Well, I certainly have a new-found appreciation.

Thank you.

See FloBot here:  http://www.progressive.com/commercials/flobot.aspx

(not affiliated with Progressive Insurance, Flo, or FloBot in any capacity.)

thanks for listening ~ xxxx

Hello LAS VEGAS Area!

Tags

Accountant, Broadcast, Family, Help, Home, Las Vegas, Lost, Newspaper, Real Estate, Recession, Relocate, Room & Board, Science

~Accountant, Controller, Director of Finance, Tax Associate, CFO, Forms Designer… ~

Like so many, I lost my home during the Great Recession (after carrying myself for a year without work – overly prepared, or so I thought).

The good news – my family was in a position to invite me here to Nevada while I tried to recover.  The bad news, things have also changed for them and I am now faced with moving on again, to ???

While I would very much like to get back to ‘normal’, to get back to work with a livable income and my own residence, the current job market continues to be a challenge.

I believe my skills and experience transfer nicely to areas outside of accounting, if need be, and I am also highly proficient in Microsoft Excel and love to work with it as well as financial software packages.

I have worked as an accountant in the commercial Real Estate (both equity and construction), Bio-Science manufacturing / costing, national Newspaper and national Broadcasting industries.

At this time, I am interested in regular or temporary, part-time or full-time work, projects, audit preparation, reconciliations, general ledger setup, or whatever is needed.

Additionally, I could also be very interested in working for room and board, and a smaller salary, say a small hotel suite.  (This would be ideal, in fact.)

Please consider my skills and experience then contact me if you should have use for my services or know someone who does.

For a solid work ethic and an excellent work product, look no further.

Thank you Nevada!