Velo

I bought a sweet new bike last week. There's a striking resemblance to the green clunker I had in Cambridge in that it's a step-through cruiser painted mint green. There's a basket on front and a rack for panniers on back, and even a bell on the handlebars. It’s adorable and although it only has one speed, it’s the perfect speed for Bobo … cruising.

I tried to look for a bike a week earlier, but foolishly went to the market by myself and attempted to haggle the price on my own. I was nearly ready to take home one bike until I took it for a test drive down the street and discovered that the handlebars were wobbly beyond repair. As I turned into the market stall, a security guard on foot demanded that I pay him 5000 CFA because I rode my bike the wrong way on a one-way street (never mind that I followed a motor scooter going the same way for the length of the street). I turned to look for a sign designating “one-way street” and saw none, and when I turned back, the guard was laughing with the shop keeper, but still demanding money from me. I asked him where the sign was and he pointed me in the other direction, so I left the bike, began walking in that direction and didn’t go back.

After my unsuccessful attempts to find a bike at three different market stalls left me feeling discouraged, I asked for help from a co-worker of mine, who was all too pleased to help me find one. He arranged for us to go with a friend of his to a shop, where I immediately spied the bike that I wanted to buy. Fortunately, after taking it for a spin, it was easy to decide that it was indeed a keeper. After a few words were exchanged in Dioula by the guys, the shop owner said a price that seemed reasonable to me and we struck a deal.