Ideal Beater Bike

[the Ferret]

I can appreciate an immaculately clean bike, but it is difficult to keep them that way when you ride over 300 days/25,000 miles a year in the Midwest. According to the US climate report we get 132 days of rainfall a year, and average 19" of snow. We've had 4 or 5 days of rain this week. I've ridden on every one of them. The winter months of Nov -March with snow/ice/slush/salt I missed only 11 days of riding in those 4 months. It would be impossible to keep a bike immaculate if you ride nearly everyday. Of course you can just stay home and stare out the window and keep your bike clean, but what fun is that? Most of what keeps me from riding these days is medical related, not weather related.

I'm the ideal candidate for a beater bike, but I just beat the ones I have