I never realized how cheap I was until I was sifting through the clothes for sale at the house across the street from mine. The old guy had died and his kids were having an estate sale.I didn't want to pay fifteen dollars for a sheepherders jacket that really would have looked pretty cool as I whittled away the miles on my vintage motorcycle. I like it and all but I'm really trying to not be a major part of this consumer cycle so much. I'm going Freegan! Sort of.
That being said, I did manage to score an excellent very cheap oversize chair for only ten bucks, complete with oversize ottoman. On the way home with the chair over my head, I asked if I could have the bicycle covered in bird shit and dust under the overhang next to the garage. The oldest son looked estatic. "Take it." That was all I needed to make my weekend.
I grabbed my trusty Home Depot bucket and some soap and cleaned the heck out of that dusty old Schwinn. It started to reveal a very nice and shiny undercoating, and pretty soon I was looking a pretty decent free bike to add to my arsenal of cheap/free bikes. After about 10 minutes scrubbing and then lubing the chain, I was ready to test the tires.
Weather worn and showing cracks on the sidewall, the tires managed to work with the tubes in symbiotic apprehension and agreed to hold air. This first pedal around the block was all I needed to commit and decide to buy new tires for this underutilized machine. Free bike!
I flipped through all the gears, adjusted the brakes and then cleaned the bearings in the wheels and steering stem. Fresh grease really loosened up the ride and pretty soon I was breaking away across Monroe with the second best free bike I have found to date. This 10 speed was fun with a bullet however, and I couldn't seem to skate to the store anymore. I had to ride my free bike.
After spending $10 on tires and $6 on new handlebar wrap, I guess I can say that the bike is no longer officially free. But the spirit of this journey lies in turning one persons trash into another persons free transportation, and that is the root of Freeganism. Use it or pass it to the next person. Share the fun, share the wealth and stop bringing over containers full of shitty crap made in China. If you need a bike and think this one will work for you, it's yours. I just hate to see perfectly good things go to waste.
BTW: Free bikes are everywhere. Spend a little bit of time looking and you'll be stoked. The best part? If it gets stolen, you're not out any real money. Chew on that.
1 comment:
Aren't marketing and freeganism antithetical concepts? Or is one some sort of attempt at atonement for the other?
You know what you need to do is find out when all the annual leases expire around UW (I'm not sure if it's the same here, but in Madison, WI it's August 14th) and drive a truck down there. Other than the gas, it'd be pretty much the mother lode of free shit.
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