Goodbye E-bike, Hello E-bike

My beloved 12-year-old bicycle.
Lately, whenever I ride it, it makes this unpleasant sound at the same time,
I thought something might be hitting it, but I couldn't figure it out at all.

A few days ago.
I had to rush to guide my younger child, and while I was riding my bike...
"Mom, your back tire is wobbling sideways."
I was told.
When I switched with my child to take a look...
You know how a spinning top wobbles left and right when it's about to fall over?
It was like that.

Wait, isn't that dangerous??
I have a two-hour round trip ahead of me, will it hold up...?

I managed to get my child to their destination,
and leaving them with a prayer, I said, "If the bike gets a flat on the way back, do your best with Google Maps," and headed to a nearby bike shop.

When I went to the nearby bike shop, 6 or 7 spokes (the bone-like things in the wheel) were broken.
Even the ones that weren't broken were mostly bent.

I already knew the tire frame itself was warped.
I had all the spokes replaced, but I figured it was probably done for.
That was already about two years ago.
I mean, for a while, I was speeding around with 35kg on the back and 15kg on the front.

It's reached the end of its life.
Yeah, it lived a full life.

"I'll buy a new one soon. But for today, I just want to get home on this."
When I said that, the shop staff kindly used zip ties to secure the broken spokes so they wouldn't cause any trouble.
"This isn't even a repair, so there's no charge," they said.
I'm so grateful...
I accepted their kindness and left the shop.

With an orange seat on an orange bike.
A bike I made sure I could recognize as mine from anywhere.
My kids liked it too.
I have so many memories with it.

But, it's time to seriously buy a new one.
It's expensive, though.
No, it's really expensive!
Even though I'm broke, another 100,000 yen is going to fly away...

But without it, my range of movement will be greatly reduced.
I'll take it from my meager secret savings... I braced myself, thinking this might be my last shopping trip, and headed out.
I bought what I needed and hopped on my e-bike to go back to my child.
After riding for a while, I felt something was off and jumped off.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

The back tire was flat.
A perfect flat tire.
And a new spoke had broken.

"Wait, right now??💦"

It takes about an hour to walk back to the bike shop from earlier.
Home is even further.
But I knew there was another bike shop about a 10-minute walk away.

No, can you believe this?
Is it fate, or what should I call it?
It's telling me to buy one now!

Things have a way of flowing, don't they?
Just as I was thinking that, my phone suddenly rang.

It was my mother.

It wasn't a conversation that needed to happen right then, but since I was going to be home late, I listened.
I waited for the right moment to explain the situation.
Actually, I'm in the middle of something right now.
My bike got a flat tire, and I'm currently pushing it.
It's reached the end of its life anyway, so I'm on my way to buy a new one.

"Your birthday is coming up, isn't it? I'll buy it for you."
my mother said.

Huh???
E-bikes cost over 100,000 yen, you know???

When I asked, she said she'd sold some unwanted items recently and they went for more than she expected.
A windfall, descended from the heavens.

To be honest, I didn't really want her to buy it for me.
Because later, she'd come at me with condescending questions like, "How's it going?"
What happened to that, when are you using it, and so on.

But, just for that moment, I was able to say it honestly.

"Thank you, that's a huge help."

After all, I've had a string of expenses lately!!

And just like that, my farewell to the bike I'd ridden for 12 years came quite easily.
Now, my new ride is a yellow electric bike.
The child seat has been replaced by a large basket, and the tires are much bigger.
Since it was 20 inches before, it really moves now.
It's laughably comfortable.

I want to spend the next 10 years with this bike, too.
By then, I might be complaining about my knees or something...
No, no, I'll keep riding it plenty, as a form of meditation!