I totally agree on the "deserving" a nice bike. And while I can understand the desire not to sink a lot of money into a new hobby immediately (because I did it too), and I do realize it's an expensive hobby, the fact that it isn't nice is probably going to hinder your enjoyment.*

And if I see couples together on the bike trail, if they're not riding comparable bikes, it's always the man that's riding the decent bike, while the woman's huffing and puffing away on a heavy mountain bike or something.



*Maybe I'm a masochist, because I rode for 3 years on a bike that didn't fit and I still like it...