Someone Take Away My Check Card

I need to feed my check card to a shredder. Of course, I will not do this - so someone needs to do it for me. Lets check up on some spending patterns!

I purchased a rather nice bicycle for $500 in December. I have used the bike, I probably put more than 50 but less than 100 miles on it already. Maybe. I do not ride it daily due to the fact I get out of work at 7:30 PM, so by the time I get home is is past 8:00 and then I eat dinner and then it is at least 9:00 PM.

But any good spender can tell you that it is NOT the initial purchase that is the most fun! Oh no! The fun part comes when you have to buy accessories! So here is a list of accessories I have bought, the amount spent on each, and a bonus list of other accessories I still need to buy! This list is in order, so number 1 is the first accessory bought.

1. Water bottle with cage - $8
2. Cable Lock - $20
3. Rear cargo rack - $45
4. Front and rear LED lights - $30
5. Clipless Pedals - $50
6. Shoes for clipless pedals - $70
7. Helmet - $50
8. Hand air pump - $20
9. Dial tire pressure guage - $5
10. Flat tire patch kit - $5

Notice how the helmet was one of the last thing to buy. I have a fairly thick skull. The bike shop tried to sell me a helmet with the bike, but I told them I was going by the "if I do not fall off, I do not need a helmet" theory.

Now for the things I still "need".

1. U-Lock that I can attach to the rear cargo rack - another $20
2. Second water bottle with cage - $8
3. Thinner road tires
4. Sirius satellite radio reciever with built in memory to hold up to 11 hours of programming, built in antenna, and lithium-ion rechargable battery - $250
5. Some kind of device to attach the satellite radio to the handlebars - free to $10
6. Small external computer speakers to hear music from the satellite radio thing >$20

This does not include the crazy idea I have to buy a cheap department store aluminum bike, stripping it down to the frame, then using that to build a recumbent design bike.

Add to this the fact that the Miami Boat Show is going to happen soon, so that means I have to go there. I will end up buying stuff at the show. Nothing major, but I will probably end up with a bunch of fishing gear (sabiki rigs, jigs, lures, and so on). Then there are two marine flea markets right after the boat show.

Oh yea and I decided that I "need" a Toyota TRD transmission cooler for my 2002 Tacoma Pre-Runner. The cooler will cost about $200, and I have to install it myself because the dealer wants way too much to do the job. The install is easy, no special tools are needed and no major parts have to be removed. The cooler will keep the trannie fluid extra cool even when towing heavy loads (like my boat) in the summer (when it is hot as hell outside). Cool trannie fluid is good. Cooked transmission fluid is bad. If your transmission fluid is not cherry red, or slightly darker than cherry red, it is probably burnt. Go on, check your transmission fluid now. Is it a gross brown color? If so, it is burnt and needs to be replaced before it costs you big time when you have to replace the transmission.

And now for my opinion on bicycle helmets. When did they become a big deal? When I was growing up in the late 70s and 80s, nobody wore a helmet. Anyone who DID wear a helmet needed it because of the ass beating they were going to get for being a dork. We would fall off out bikes, get up, and keep going. With less blood. But now EVERYONE wears them. Did skulls get softer or something?