My Bike

This is my one speed bike I bought for about $70 used. It was made in Brazil and is almost exactly like a million others here that are made in China. Somehow I think mine is better than the Chinese bike Tom has that looks the same, but this one rides better with more room between the seat and the handle bars. They both need repair about every other time you ride them. Tires go flat weekly and all nuts and bolts rattle loose etc.. Not sure why the tires are so inferior here. The wheels are really big so once you get your momentum up, you can really cruise. Cochabamba is relatively flat, so gears are not a necessity. Tom rides a lot in the center of town, and the traffic is horrendous. I get too stressed out riding in heavy traffic. So far, Tom has had one collision with a person and 3 with vehicles. One was a police car. Motorized vehicles have the right away here and if you are anything else, you yield or you die.
My friend Ardele has introduced us to quite a nice loop. It takes about and hour and a half to do and it is best done at 6am to beat the traffic. At the far end of the loop we are in the suburbs, which here means there are small plots of corn and herds of cows in the larger lots. On a typical ride around the loop we may have to stop for a herd of dairy cows, swerve around a dead dog in the road, breath black clouds of diesel from buses, experience many near misses as taxis and trufis cut in front of you and then pull over to the right side of the road, bump over stone cobbled roads, swallow your heart as junk-yard dogs come racing out at you just as a huge truck passes you on the other side, and stop and tighten a few bolts just to make it home. Never boring and always we are happy to make it home, getting exercise becomes a bonus.