Need...or...Want

Do you ever decide that you want something so badly that you come to feel that you need it, even though your life is perfectly fine without it? 

I have (on numerous occasions).

Currently, the "need devil" on my shoulder is whispering in my ear about a Fat Bike.  You know; a Surly Pugsley, or a Salsa Mukluk, or something similar.

There is a couple of things keeping me from running out and buying one.  The first is cost.  These bikes range from $1599 to close to $2000 new, and used examples are rare as hen's teeth (and not much cheaper than a new one, to boot).

Now, I could come up with the money, if I really wanted to.  I am no stranger to robbing Peter to pay Paul.  I could sell some stuff and finance the purchase.  But, the other consideration, the thing that actually keeps me from pulling the trigger on purchasing one of these bikes, is that I have absolutley no real use for one.

When I bought my Handsome XOXO, I justified the cash outlay by deeming the bike to be a commuter.  And, I have used it as such.  Every time I ride it to work, the cost becomes that much less of a concern to me.

But, the Fat Bike would be nothing but an expensive toy.  I couldn't really use it as a winter commuter.  The problem we have in the winter is not deep snow on the road but, rather, ice on the road.  No matter how fat the tires, if they aren't studded they are going to slip on ice.

And, it's not like I have a bunch of friends going snow-biking all winter and leaving me behind.  I would be the only person in my acquaintance who had one of these, and I would end up riding alone (and therefore, not very often).

So far, I have managed to stay logical and hold on to my money. 

But, man, that new Mukluk is awfully cool!

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