Regarding money and bikes, here is something to think about.
Consider your bicycle collection growth to be a
"Portfolio Reallocation"
Since just before the year 2000, old Italian bikes, French touring machines, and British gems have looked amazingly good on paper.
And as always, choose your time periods for comparison carefully - you don't want those pesky years before 2000 to muddy your logic.
Mike Kone in Boulder CO
Mike Kone in Boulder CO
> When a new bike is spotted, some of us have only one
\r?\n> (truthful) plea left:
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > "C'mon honey, Matt Gorski has way more bikes that I do."
\r?\n> >
\r?\n> > Charlie "Hats off to Matt" Young
\r?\n> > Honey Brook, PA
\r?\n>
\r?\n> ********
\r?\n>
\r?\n> This has always worked for me, btw. In justifying my
\r?\n> collecting jones to myself, that is.. Many of us here in
\r?\n> SoCal, and around the country, apparently, owe a debt of
\r?\n> gratitude to Matty for his long years of service to the rest
\r?\n> of us in this regard...
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Actually, to be fair, my girlfriend Carmen is not only my
\r?\n> tandem partner (I never would have discovered the joys of
\r?\n> tandem riding without her..), but she's just happy that I'm
\r?\n> happy with my little stable. Seems like that's the essence
\r?\n> of a good relationship: each is happy that the other is
\r?\n> happy with whatever they're doing. As long as whatever
\r?\n> they're doing doesn't violate some existing agreement...
\r?\n> right?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> At the risk of being OT, I propose that there's a simple
\r?\n> solution to this problem of partner/spousal-acceptance:
\r?\n> your money; her/his money; and our money. Solves the
\r?\n> problem completely. If it doesn't, then something else is
\r?\n> going on that should be dealt with.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I am perpetually amazed at the various emotionally-fraught
\r?\n> ways in which couples handle money and power (been there,
\r?\n> done that, got the tee shirt, and the mug)... I'm better at
\r?\n> it now, but such things are a matter of ongoing compromise,
\r?\n> I think.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Of course, if you're hanging bikes in her closet, then,
\r?\n> whatever else is going on in the relationship, you can
\r?\n> expect a certain amount of agitation, yes?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Charles Andrews
\r?\n> SoCal
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> "The deeper I go in considering the
\r?\n> vanities of popular reasoning, the
\r?\n> lighter and more foolish I find them."
\r?\n>
\r?\n> --Galileo Galilei