As a rule, I hate exercise. But I’ve been known to motivate myself towards fitness given the right incentive. Here’s one: the amazing, beautiful piece of engineering and art that is the Brompton folding bicycle!

I’ve never owned a real bike by Seattle standards. As a kid, I learned to ride on a cheapo Walmart bike that didn’t even have gears. When I interned at Microsoft, I used an incentive to buy a $500 mountain bike that had a few gears. But it wasn’t nearly what a $2k road bike should feel like.

I own a Mustang, not a vehicle on which to put a bike rack. And I didn’t want the hassle of disassembling a real bike. But, I have many family and friends that love riding, and I’d like to join them from time to time…

With some encouragement from Cheryl and Won, I made the plunge. Beautiful baby blue M6L. Upgraded brown Brooke’s B17 brown leather saddle, Ergon GP-1 BioKork handles, and a dorky Ortlieb Mini-O front saddle bag.

Well, I love the damn thing, so that’s that.