Found on Craigslist

On February  20, 2016, I bought a Schwinn recumbent bicycle on Amazon for $349.99.  I know this because I can do a search and look at every order I've ever bought for as long as I've had the account.   I've worn out several cheap exercise bikes in the past; they didn't last long.  I thought if I spent more money and got one with a lot of good reviews, perhaps it would last a while; this one has stood the test.

When I first got it, I would often ride 45 minutes to an hour a day, but two or three years ago I realized I'd better take it easy, since my knees were getting so sore when I went for my walk.  Now I try to ride it 30 minutes every day, but pedaling slower and doing less time.  

Four or five  years ago when Cliff couldn't walk anymore because of his hip, he started doing 30 minutes daily also.  Our old bike has had lots of punishment and is still working for us.

However, when Cliff is riding, it's developed a sort of soft thumping sound as he pedals.  He tore into the working parts of it the other day and I was sure he'd ruined it, but he reassembled it and it's still working.  The noise is bothering him, though.  And I'll admit it has worried me a little, simply because it could get worse and then break.  It's the only exercise Cliff gets, really.  His body aches and he has trouble breathing due to asthma, but that's one thing he can do.

Looking on Amazon, I saw the updated model 230 Schwinn recumbent now costs $599.  It's worth it, but forget it.  We'll wait until some bargain comes along.

Meanwhile, Cliff was searching for an ad on Craigslist that his brother placed for a piece of farm machinery he wanted to sell.  He looked for awhile, but couldn't find the ad.  Knowing about his troubles doing Internet searches, I looked for the ad and found it.  It was likely the first time in two years or so I've been on Craigslist.  Everybody seems to prefer Facebook Marketplace, and there aren't nearly as many scammers on Facebook.  Since I was there anyway, I thought I'd see if anybody had a decent recumbent bike for sale.  I typed in the search "Schwinn recumbent" and behold, there was one 40 miles away for $125.  Bingo!

Cliff agreed it sounded like a deal.  It's difficult to find a used, worn-out exercise bike because people will buy one, ride it once or twice, and then hang clothes on it for a while until they finally put it in a garage sale.  They seldom get used.  I guess they've never tried reading while they ride, because that's how we stay faithful with it.  Time passes very quickly.     

Yesterday afternoon after Cliff went out to the shop, I got hold of the guy with the bike and talked to him.  I asked him if it had been used a lot; he said, "Well, we haven't used it much; I got it at a garage sale, and I don't know how much they used it, but it doesn't seem to have been ridden much."  I asked him if he would consider taking the price down to $100.

I went out to tell Cliff I was ready to go look at it; he said, "Oh, I had decided not to get it."

I told him I got the price down, and he agreed to go.

We now have a newer version of the same bike we got in 2016, and it looks shiny and new.  I'll bet it hasn't seen over 10 hours of use.

Now if I could only get Cliff to move the old one out of the house.  He says he's going to leave them side-by-side so we can race.  What????