Pawn Shop Circuit: M-30

After work today, I drove over to Neil's pawn shop to see what kind of ordnance he had on the shelves. Only a 45 caliber Astra handgun and a slew of shotguns, muzzleloaders and deer rifles were available. I checked the electronics, someone had stolen our speakers at work, and I was looking for cheap replacements to screw to the walls. Neil did not have any speakers, but he did have an interesting bike.

I have yet to purchase myself a mountain bike, and hanging from Neil's bike rack was a Raleigh M-30. It looked like an older bike, and it was crusted with mud. Everything was there though, if a bit rusty. I looked at the price tag........$29.99. What?!! This was too cheap to resist. I took the bike down and Neil looked up from his newspaper in amazement. "You want a bike?" he inquired.

"Yeah," I replied, "I have been thinking about starting to ride one again, to get into shape and such." I flipped the bike and spun the wheels. They were true. The cromoly frame was straight. The brakes functioned. Heck, the parts were worth more than thirty bucks. I broke out my wallet, paid for it, and asked Neil to hold it for me until I got back with my bike rack. When I returned, I loaded the bike onto the rack, and I began to wonder if I was nuts. Heck it's a super inexpensive toss away bike. If it allows me to keep up with Little Darling on just a couple of off road trips, it is money well spent.